The Witch of Fireworm Island
by HeartAngel1796
Summary: After hearing a tale of a mysterious witch that lives in the woods of Fireworm Island, the riders decide to see if it's true or not for themselves before going back to Berk for their special autumn festival. Will they uncover the truth, or be scared off first? (Race to the Edge) Halloween Fic.
1. Bork's Scary Story

**I do not own any of HTTYD.**

 **I have been dying to write this as an introduction for my OC. And it seemed like a great time to be publishing it because it's a bit on the spooky side. Perfect for Halloween. So if you prefer fun, on the lighter side, spooky stories, then I think u will like this ;)**

 **I'm posting the first 3 chapters tonight, just to give u guys something while getting in the 'Halloween mood.' But I will do my best to post the rest soon. Hopefully before the fall is over.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Bork's Scary Story**

 **...**

"…And when they got back to their camp site, all they found were the shreds of their tents… and the bones of their friends!" Tuffnut spoke quietly and mysterious before shouting the end of his tale as he stood before their camp fire. Everyone else around the fire looked uninterested and more unafraid. Well, except Fishlegs. He was shaking a bit.

The day after tomorrow, the riders where leaving Dragon's Edge and going back to Berk for the annual Harvest Scare Festival. A day full of sweets, scares, and pranks to celebrate the harvest before the winter starts. The people of Berk loved peace and the thrill of battle, but they also found fun in harmless pranks to scare each other. And who didn't love sweets on special holidays? The day of the festival is fun, but mostly just for the children. It's at night when things get good. When all the younger children go to bed, they hold a big bomb fire in the center of the village for the older folk, where everyone can drink cider, eat chestnuts, and listen to scary stories told but each other. But if your story isn't scary enough, everyone else has the right to 'boo' and through chestnuts at you until you get off the stage. Only children ten and older are allowed to stay at the bomb fire, but you have to be eighteen and older to stand before everyone on the platform and tell a scary story yourself. And this year, the riders of Dragon's Edge were finally old enough to do that. So to prepare, they decided to have their own little story telling camp fire in the woods on their island to test their stories out. Their dragons also in attendances.

Ruffnut gave a bored yawn before she spoke. "Cute ghost story bro. Cute, but not scary."

"Oh yeah? Well no one was exactly hiding behind their dragons during your 'Tale of the Haunted Outhouse' either," Tuff retaliated, sitting back on the ground next to her.

"Fishlegs was," Astrid nodded her head to said cowardly Viking across the fire from her.

"That doesn't count. He's been hiding behind Meatlug pretty much the whole night," Snotlout added from his spot next to him.

"Have not," Fishlegs tried to defend himself, however still hiding behind said Gronckle made that hard. And a moment later, Fishlegs came back from the other side of her and sat in front of the fire like everyone else. "See?"

"Okay, now it's my turn," Hiccup proclaimed proudly. The chief's son had intentionally asked to go last in their scary story telling camp fire. He had something unexpectedly sinister up his sleeve; well, technically up in Toothless' saddle bag.

"Oh boy," Snotlout rolled his eyes, exchanging a knowing look with Tuffnut. "Let me guess, the 'Trolls that live under your bed' story?" he and the twins gave an absurd chuckled.

"Oh no. What I have for you guys this evening is not just some old Viking scary story," Hiccup told them, reaching behind him to Toothless' saddle bag. "When I was going through some of Bork's papers, I found something with his notes on Fireworm dragons," he said, turning back around with a few sheets of parchment. "It was his own description of his first and only trip to Fireworm Island, and it made my skin crawl," Hiccup said looking anxious to tell the tale.

"So? We've been to Fireworm Island before. And the only thing scary about that trip was that I almost lost Hookfang," Snotlout said unimpressed, his Monstrous Nightmare bringing his head closer to give his boy a quick nuzzle. Snotlout grinned and pat him in return.

"True, but we only stayed by the cave of a nest. What I have here is Bork's experience when he went deeper inland to camp for the night," Hiccup's smile remained, confident he will scary them all silly. "It's fascinating, yet totally creepy. I don't think I completely believe it myself, but I do think it makes for a Hell of a scary story," Hiccup held the parchment out in front of him.

"Then read on my good sir," Astrid nudged her shoulder to his shoulder.

Hiccup smiled, looking back to everyone else, seeing them either laid back against their dragons or scooting closer, eager to listen. Hiccup stood, looking diplomatically to the parchment in his hands, and began to read it off:

"Many years ago, back when I was a young man, I was out on the sea, all by myself in my wee-little boat, fishing like I always have, when I saw an island not too far off from my boat. Being the curious Viking I was, I decided to paddle over to the island and explore. Little did I know it would be one of the worst decisions I would ever make.

After I made it ashore and tied my boat up to three trees to keep it stationary, grabbed my satchel and some supplies from my boat before hopping ashore. I had landed on a most rocky side of the island, but there I found a great cave. Once again feeling adventurous, I walked into the cave and down a tunnel. And that's when I first laid eyes upon one of the most astounding dragon species I've ever seen; the Fireworms.

I spent a few hours in that tunnel, drawing sketches, recording my observations of what they did. But by the time I left the tunnel it was just after sunset. So I dropped off my research back into my boat and grabbed some gear before making my way further inland to look for shelter in the woods.

It started getting darker as I walked, and as I walked, I noticed all the trees had leaves that were orange, yellow, brown, and some were red as blood. Some were on the trees, but a lot were on the ground. I even saw some fall from the tree to the ground all around me. I could hear them crunch dry under my boots. Only lots of the trees were dead and knocked over, and some were severely burnt.

After walking among those trees for about an hour, I spotted the most usual thing; two ropes, a foot or two apart, tied around the same branch of a tree. The ropes were long, dangling all the way down to the ground, but they didn't touch the ground, the other ends were tied to the sides of a small piece of wood. I was both fascinated and unsettled by the strange thing, but before I could get to close to it I heard a strange sound and continued on.

By the time I spotted a cave, a fog started to roll in. I then started hearing more things from behind and all around me. The leaves moving like someone walking over them as I had, while I stood in that one spot. Then there was a hoot from an owl and a caw from a crow, then I bolted right into that cave.

In the cave, I found a few stick and started a little fire. And as I sat there, I tried to pull myself together. Tried telling myself, 'Oh, there's nothing to be afraid of. There's nothing here.' But I knew deep in the back of my head I was only lying to myself. When my fire started to die, I lit myself I touch and got up to look for more sticks to burn. And as I walked deeper into the cave, I collected a few more sticks. But then my foot hit something else, I thought it was another stick, but when I went to pick it up, it was white and oddly shaped. And I knew it was bone! And not one bone. After I dropped all my sticks I waved my torch all around the floor of that cave and saw bones everywhere! I backed away to the wall of the cave, when my hand hit the wall I felt something wet. And warm, and sticky. I took it from the wall and brought it into the light from me to see, and my hand was completely red! I screamed and ran back the way I came. I even left my satchel and dropped my torch, and ran all the way out the mouth of the cave and into the moon light. But that wasn't the only light around. I could see these little mysterious floating lights all around the front of the cave out of the corner of my eyes. But I didn't pay much attention to them. Although they did give me reason enough to run faster.

Once I was away from the cave I continued running for a bit longer, until I had to stop and take a breath for a moment. I was going to just go back to my boat and sleep in that for the night. I started walking back to the beach where I tied up my boat, but the further I walked the more sounds I hear all around me. I heard footsteps that weren't mine. More crows and rustling. And even some growls and hissing. The more I heard, the faster I ran. And when I finally got back to my boat, that's when I saw….her.

A witch. The Witch of Fireworm Island.

She stood there in a long black clock, hood shadowing her face. And in her old, wrinkly hands was this strange, large, roundish, plump looking, vegetable-like-plant-thing. And it was glowing orange, like there was a fire burning inside of it. She started walking towards me, I stumbled back and fell, and tried to crawl away. And when she stopped, my back had hit a tree. I was trapped. And when I looked up to her, I started to see those little floating balls of light from in front of the cave. Looking better at them, I saw they glowed orange and red, just floating all around the both of us. I started to panic again, and then she spoke to me. That deep, crackly, and haggard voice still echoes in my ears. She said "Leave. And never return."

She lifted a hand, I closed my eyes. I waited for a minute, but nothing happened. And when I finally dared myself to open them again, she was gone. Her and all the little lights were gone. But when I looked down to the spot on the ground where she had been standing, I saw dozens of these seeds scattered around. They weren't like any seed I had ever seen before. They were flat and white and rather big; as big as one of my own finger nails. But as I studied a seed, I started hearing the rustling and hissing again, and when I turned around where I sat I saw more of those creepy floating lights further back into the woods. And when the hissing got louder, I scrambled to my feet and dashed to my boat, there I found a single lit candle in the middle of the deck. I stared at it for barely two second before something big wooshed just past my head and splashed into the water on the other side of my boat!

After that I didn't even bother untying the ropes that kept my boat stationary I was so scared! I took out my knife from my belt, sliced through them as fast as I could, and paddled away. Never looking back, and vowing never to return again. Just like the Witch of Fireworm Island had told me."

When Hiccup was finished with his tale, he was interested to see how everyone reacted. Snotlout had his knees up to his chest, burying his face in his helmet. Fishlegs wasn't just cowering behind Meatlug this time, he was practically trying to crawl and hide under her belly like she was his bed back in his hut. Astrid had her knees hugged to her chest and shoulders tense, looking up to him with an unsettling look on her face. And the twins; both sat cross-legged, Ruffnut held her two braid she keeps in front of her up to cover her eyes, but Tuffnut just had his arms cross in front of him, his hands covering his arms, trying to hide or calm his goosebumps. The look on his face similar to Astrid's, but more full of wonder.

"Wow. That really happened to Bork?" Astrid said bewildered. Upon hearing a different voice, everyone hiding in anyway came out and went back to sitting normally by the fire, next to their dragons.

"I found it in his papers, and this is his writing," Hiccup answered, also sitting down by the fire once again.

"So there's really a… a witch living on Fireworm Island?" Fishlegs stuttered, still frightened from the story.

"Well like I said, I don't exactly believe it completely," Hiccup replied.

"Oh come on!" Tuffnut threw his arms up, directing all attention to himself. "The bones and blood, the spooky sounds, floating balls of light, creepy giant vegetables!" Ruffnut swatted her brother's arm to get his attention.

"Maybe she grows them in a big creepy garden on the island and she uses her victims as fertilizer after she debones them," she said with a maniacal smile. Tuff smiled back, intrigued.

"Okay guys, I'm not saying Bork made this up. Maybe he did see an old women living on Fireworm Island and maybe she was a little strange, but that doesn't exactly mean she was a real witch," Hiccup tried to reason after folding the papers back up and putting them away.

"Well then I say we go back to Fireworm Island and see for ourselves if there's really a witch," Snotlout stated determined and excited. The twins looked excited about this idea, and just looked wide-eyed in different ways.

"No!" Fishlegs shrieked, causing everyone to look his way, either surprised by his outburst or annoyed by his coward-ness. "We can't because…" he tried to think of a good excuse. "Even if she did live on the island when Bork went, that trip was years ago, and if she was old then, she would have died by now." Fishlegs hoped that convinced them.

"Hello," Ruffnut interjected. "If there really is a women living there, and she really is a witch, then she can't die like a normal person."

"Yeah, she would have to be immortal or something like that," Snotlout backed her up.

"So if we go to Fireworm Island and find a women living there now, then she must be a witch!" Tuffnut concluded, very excited now.

"Guys, we go to explore lands for dragons, not witches," Hiccup tried again to stop where this was going. Unfortunately for him, they were already there.

"Come on Hiccup," Astrid, of all riders among them, scooted closer to him. "Instead of reading off of Bork's paper about something he did, wouldn't you rather tell everyone about your own experience in the woods of Fireworm Island at the bomb fire? And you said it yourself, that was Bork's only trip to Fireworm Island, and we only went there once ourselves. What if there's more we could learn about them? I remember seeing a few charts and images in the Dragon Eye about Fireworms," the blonde shield maiden tried to convince. "There could even be a new lens for the Dragon Eye there." If anyone could talk Hiccup into doing something fun yet stupid and potentially dangerous with the group, it was her. But it also didn't hurt that everyone else was staring at him pleadingly, the twins even stuck their lower lips out to pout with big eyes.

Astrid was probably just saying all that to get him to agree, but Hiccup had to admit; the Dragon Eye did have a lot of mentions of Fireworms. And although Bork did record a lot of info on them from just that one voyage, there was still more to learn about them. And maybe all those clues could mean another lens could be hidden there somewhere. And if there is a women living on the island, if she's lived among the Fireworms for as long as they're assuming, maybe she knows things they don't about them.

"Okay fine. We'll head to Fireworm Island tomorrow morning," Hiccup conceded with a huff and eye role. Everyone cheered and the twins bonked helmets in joy. "But, we are just going to look around. And if there really is a women living there; witch or not, and doesn't want us around, we leave immediately," Hiccup told them. He didn't really believe there was a real witch living there, but that didn't mean he wasn't still curious or aware of the potential danger this little adventure could have.

"Whatever. But I want to at least find that cave where Bork found all those bones," Snotlout said as everyone stared packing up their camp to head back to the outpost for the night.

"Me too! And I want to find some of those weird vegetables and bring one back to Berk," Ruffnut said as she and Tuffnut put the fire out.

"Well if we're all going anyway, I wouldn't mind trying to find that piece of wood and rope hanging from that tree Bork said he found," said Fishlegs as he mounted Meatlug.

"Well I'm not gonna leave that island until I discover the truth!" Tuffnut stated proud and sure. "And I want to see her face."

Everyone proceeded to also mount their dragons to head back, but still lingering to chat excitedly about their mysterious trip tomorrow. Hiccup looked at all of them as he mounted Toothless, feeling ridiculous for letting them talk him into approving of this insane voyage.

"What have I done?" Hiccup shamefully thought out to himself. But Astrid decided to reply anyway.

"Well, you've either sentenced us all to our doom, or given us the key to the best Harvest Scare Day ever," Astrid said in positive spirits before taking off with Stormfly.

"Let's just get back to the outpost, I'm starving," Snotlout said when they got into the air.

"You forgot to eat dinner before we left?" Hiccup asked from his right.

"I was too excited."

"I think we still have some left over shock sturgeon from last night," Astrid offered. Everyone cringed for a second at that statement.

"On second thought, I think I'll be okay until breakfast," Snotlout said as they all landed on the platform outside the stables. Snotlout quickly dismounted before walking away with Hookfang.

"Why?" Astrid ask after she too landed and dismounted, with her hands on her hips, somewhat offended.

"Because last night was your turn to cook," Snotlout called back over his shoulder as he continued his stride.

Now Astrid really was offended. People have told her that her cooking wasn't all that great before, but hearing it like that made her want to hurl the offender into the nearest wall. Then maybe off the nearest cliff.

Said angry dragon rider was starting to stomp towards the fleeing Jorgensen to carry out said act, when an arm shot out in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.

"Astrid, you're talented in a lot of things, but you have to admit that cooking isn't one of them," Hiccup tried to rephrase, as to calm her temper and to not also make her angry at him too. Astrid was still irritated by what the both of them said, but she knew she wasn't great. And that didn't matter all that much to her really; she was a _warrior_ , not a _house keeper_.

"Find," Astrid sighed. "I guess that means I'm cut out of the cycle for taking turns to make dinner," she added happily. If she wasn't any good at cooking, she wasn't going to waste her time preparing meals no one wanted to eat.

Astrid led Stormfly into the stables before making her way to her hut. Hiccup sighed as she walked away, but was startled a second later by Tuffnut, popping beside him.

"Can you take all her turns for making dinner? Your haddock stew is awesome," Tuffnut pleaded. Out of all of them, Hiccup was the best cook. Everyone was always so relieved on the nights they knew it was Hiccup's turn to cook. But Hiccup was the leader, and also very busy most of the time with the Dragon Eye, so he didn't cook as often as the others had to. So to answer, Hiccup simply rolled his eyes with a sigh before walking away from the male twin.

Tuffnut groaned seeing him walk away, then took his time as he too made his way to his and his sister's shared hut. As he dragged his feet he thought to himself, 'We need a real cook here.'

But they can all worry about that some other time. The Harvest Scare Festival was just around the corner, and was going to be fun. Fun and terrifying. But tomorrow would hopefully be even more so.


	2. Back to Fireworm Island

**Sorry, very short.**

 **Chapter 2: Back to Fireworm Island**

 **...**

After flying for several hours the following morning, Fireworm Island was finally in the rider's sights. The last and only other time they came to this island, it was at night and they were rushing to save Hookfang. It looked very different in the day time. And this time they could take their time to study the view. But they didn't want to take too much time. They were still expected back on Berk for the Harvest Scare Festival tomorrow. At least for the bomb fire tomorrow night anyway.

They flew by the cliffs, recognizing the cave were they knew lead to the Fireworm Queen's nest. They started to head inland, flying over the trees.

"Wow, Bork wasn't kidding. There's so much color here," Fishlegs said awed. Studying the trees different colors carefully as they flew.

"I think it's kinda pretty," Tuffnut said out of the blue. Everyone looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Tuff looked back and forth confused. "What?"

"It's creepy, that's what it is," Snotlout sneered, looking away from the trees. They all knew some trees on Berk had leaves that changed colors and fell around this time of year. But on this island, there were so many more of those trees. They saw more reds, oranges, yellows, browns, and purples then greens from the sky. It felt strange.

"Okay, creepy or not, let's land," Hiccup directed everyone to a clearing by the beach. "The sooner we explore this place the sooner we can head back to Berk," he added mostly to himself after they all touched down.

"So you'd rather stead Harvest Scare Day on the only-spooky-once-a-year Berk, then on an actual spooky all-year-round island like this?" Snotlout asked rhetorically.

"At least on Berk I know what the night in tales. We still don't completely know what's here," Hiccup protested. He was a brave leader and all, no one doubted that, but even Hiccup was not completely immune to the things that went bump in the night.

"And that's why we're here now, Hiccup," Astrid said, catching up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder as they began to walk inland. "To solve the mystery of the Witch of Fireworm Island."

"Uh, I'm gonna solve the mystery," Ruffnut insisted cockily.

"Not if I solve it first!" Tuffnut retaliated. And before anyone could stop either of them, the twins made a mad dash deeper into the forest. Completely ignoring the shouts from the others.

Everyone else began to chase after the two on foot. Hiccup called to Barf and Belch for them to fly ahead and snatch them up. The Zippleback did as instructed and soared lowly in the air to catch their riders. After the dragon flew off, the other riders decided to fly after them as well. So they all got back on their dragons and took off after them.

They were only flying for less than a few minutes before then saw Barf and Belch flying back towards them with they're riders dangling by the backs of their tunics from their dragon's jaws. Hiccup signaled for them all to land again. Everyone touched down to the ground and dismounted, and when Barf and Belch landed, they simply dropped their riders.

"Guys, this mission is about studying Fireworms and looking for that lens," Hiccup scolded them as they stood and dusted themselves off. "And like I said before, we don't know for sure what's out here, so it would be best if we all stayed together. Agreed?" The twins looked at each before looking back to Hiccup, giving him a nod to show they understood. Hiccup then looked behind him to the other riders, who also nodded.

"So instead of finding the witch…" Ruffnut said to her brother.

"We let the witch find us," Tuffnut finished they're thought. The two smiled wickedly before clanking helmets. Everyone just looked at them with a shake of their heads.

"The witch may or may not find us, but we found what I wanted to find," Snotlout said, stepping up. Everyone turned their attention to what he was talking about. And there before them was a cave.

"So, you think this could be the cave Bork camped in?" Hiccup asked, stepping up to stand by Snotlout.

"One way to find out," Snotlout said right before walking in.

Everyone else, dragons and all, followed in behind.


	3. Hissing in the Dark

**Chapter 3: Hissing in the Dark**

 **...**

"What gives? There's no bones, no blood, no nothing!" Snotlout yells echoed through the cave walls.

The riders and their dragons had been walking down the cave's tunnel for only a few minutes, the dragons had lit them torches to see in the dark, but they have yet to see a single bone on the floor of the cave or drop of blood dripping from it's walls. They had expected there to be something closer to the mouth of the cave, but seeing as the tunnel just kept going, they wanted to see just how far it went.

Or until they found something to make them all run out screaming.

"How far do you think this tunnel goes?" Fishlegs asked from the back of the group.

"Not sure. It could lead all the way down to the Fireworm nest," Hiccup answers, looking all around the cave's structure with the light from his torch. Not entirely sure what he was looking for.

"You think the witch lives with the Firewroms in their nest as one of them?" Ruffnut wondered out loud, holding their second torch.

"That's ridiculous," Astrid rolled her eyes, another torch in her hand.

"Yeah, if she did, Bork would have noticed when he was in their nest studying them. And Hiccup and I would have seen her too when we went in to get a comb of their nectar," Snotlout replied with a smug smile, then looked around him to see everyone looking at him oddly. "What? Am I wrong?"

"That does make sense," Fishlegs reluctantly agreed.

"Well she could have just escaped through these caves and into the woods," said Tuffnut.

"Okay, guys, enough with the witch talk," Hiccup said annoyed to them all.

"Why, are you getting scared?" Snotlout said, in a taunting and scary voice.

"Snotlout, I'm not denying they're may be a women living here, but…" Hiccup didn't finish his sentence because he noticed Toothless growling in the direction further down the tunnel. "Toothless, what is it bud?" he asked his dragon worriedly. The others looked to that direction as well, trying to see further in the darkness to try to see what Toothless can.

Then, before another word could be spoken, they all heard running. And you didn't need to be a Night Fury with super hearing to tell it was the running of two legs, heading further down the tunnel.

Hiccup, wanting them to chase after whoever or whatever that was, but not wanting to make more noise than they already were, simply mouthed 'Run' to them, before waving his arm in that direction, but also putting a finger to his lips to indicate that they should not say anything. They all understood and proceeded to continue down the tunnel in a run without a word.

* * *

Hiccup and the others ran down the tunnel, the glow of three torches among the lot of them, until they finally reached something. There was the smallest bit of light coming from the end of the tunnel. A room. Or more like a chamber; walls and a ceiling taller than those of the tunnel, the mouths of at least three other tunnels on opposite sides, and in the middle of the floor, a small boulder with three lit candles on top.

"What is this?" Hiccup said to himself as he approached the candles. The tallest one was about four inches high, the second was an inch or two shorter, and the other was so short the wick was almost touching the stone they sat on. Bork found a candle on his boat after his encounter with the witch. Someone had to be here somewhere to put them there.

As Hiccup looked at the candles, the others started looking around the cave. Well, everyone except Fishlegs. He stayed right by the opening of the tunnel they just came out of, clinging to Meatlug like a life line, on the watch for anything strange, when he heard a sound. Like the running they heard that lead them there.

Fishlegs jumped with a shriek, "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what? All I heard was you scream…" but Astrid was not able to complete her statement, when mixed hissing started to fill the room, echoing madly all around them off the cave walls. And a second later, her torch was whipped from her hand and went dark as it hit the stone floor.

"What the hell?!" Astrid yelled, swinging her limps around, hoping to attack the mysterious offender. But no being was within her reach, so she only swatted at the air.

"Everyone, stand your ground and…" Hiccup's order was also cut off by a mysterious force, slamming into his back and knocking him to the ground, also swiping his torch from his grasp before extinguishing it as well.

"Hiccup, what happened!?" Astrid tried to shout over the hissing, concerned. She would have gone over to him, but she can't see too well at the moment anymore.

"Something pushed me," Hiccup replied, picking himself up and dusting himself off. Hiccup looked all around to all his friends, all looking around confused and covering their ears as the hissing got louder. The dragons growled, warry of the hissing and what could be causing it. Then Hiccup looked to his dead torch on the ground. "Whatever it is, it's after the lights. It's trying to blind us! Everyone, go to the candles!" he yelled over the hissing. Then turned in the direction he assumed the twins still were. "Ruff, watch your torch!"

Upon hearing that order, Ruffnut looked to her torch, now more afraid then even that whatever that was in there with them; presumably the witch, may come after her because she had it. Consumed by fear and thinking less then she usually does, Ruff whipped the torch away from her and shoved it into the hands of her brother beside her, before running to the candles in the middle of the room with everyone else.

"Oh yeah. Show yourself witch! For I am here to…" Tuffnut boldly proclaimed, but yet again, was cut off by a mysterious force, attacking him from the shadows of the dark cave, causing his torch to also go out. Leaving the cave only lighted by the three small candles in the center of it.

"Snotlout, we need some light in here!" Hiccup yelled to his cousin, over the noise of the hissing.

"Hookfang, flame up!" Snotlout ordered his dragon. The Monstrous Nightmare complied immediately, sitting himself on fire, flooding the whole cave with light. And as soon as they could all see again, they found they could also hear again. The hissing had stopped too.

"What was that?" Astrid asked, walking back over to her torch and picking it back up.

"Whatever that was, it's gone now," Hiccup said, also picking his torch back up from the stone floor.

"Not what, who," Ruffnut snapped, her back to everyone as she stood by the side of the cave where she had been standing before. Everyone looked over to her, immediately taken aback by her tone. "It was the witch. And she's not the only one who's gone," she continued as she turned back around to her friends, holding the torch she carried in.

Everyone was confused for a moment until they looked around the cave and saw only one twin standing there. Hiccup dash towards her, kneeling down to look at the ground next to her. There on the stone floor of the cave, where he now knew the twins had been standing before, were seeds. White and flat, just about as big as a person's finger nail. The same seeds Bork found when he ran into…

After showing the others the seeds, they all knew right then and there.

The Witch of Fireworm Island had fled the cave, and she took Tuffnut with her.

* * *

 **Hope I've hooked u guys so far and plan to stick around to see what happens next. Again, I hope to work on the next chapters and post them ASAP.**

 **But if I don't get back to u guys before the month in over, Happy Halloween!**


	4. Swinging to Loneliness

**Chapter 4: Swinging to Loneliness**

 **...**

With great difficulty, the group of young adults were able to make their why out of the caves and back outside. Finding their way through and out wasn't all that hard, the hard part was convincing Ruffnut that if the witch really did take her brother, they would have left the caves. Hiccup even had Toothless roar through them to see if there really was anyone else with them, and there wasn't. But he was able to find a way out for them. There were only in the caves for about two hours total, but the sun was starting to get low in the sky when they came out.

"Hiccup, it's gonna be dark soon," Astrid said, looking up at the sky with a hand shading her view from what was left of the day's sun.

"I know. But we can't leave yet," Hiccup said, turning back to her.

"Your damn right we can't leave yet! We are gonna find that witch and make her give Tuff back!" Ruffnut yelled as she stomped out of the cave, Barf and Belch by her side.

"And what do we do if she's already deboned him for her garden?" Snotlout snickered before chuckling rudely. Ruffnut growled in anger and lunged at the Jorgenson boy, grabbing him by the collar of his tunic and throwing him over her shoulders, sending him flying into the rocks by the mouth of the cave they just walked out of.

Snotlout landing upside down, his back up against the stone, his head in the grass and his feet in the air. Slightly dazed from the impact, Snotlout slowly opened his eyes, only to see Ruffnut, upside down from his point of view, coming at him with a branch from a nearby tree.

"Guys enough!" Hiccup intervened, stepping up to Ruff and yanking the branch from her hands. "Tuff is probably fine," Hiccup patted her on the shoulder after throwing the branch into some nearby bushes. "Even if that women who lives here…"

"The witch," Snotlout interrupted his cousin as he stood, dusting himself off. Hiccup patiently brushed that comment off and continued.

"Even if that was her, she was probably just scared of us and maybe Tuff followed her down some secret passage way we didn't see before," Hiccup tried to reassure her.

"He wouldn't do that without a torch or something. You know he hates the dark," Ruffnut sneered, crossing her arms. She wanted to believe her brother was fine, but who knows what the women, witch or not, was capable of.

"Well maybe the women…" Hiccup was interrupted again.

"The witch," Snotlout called back, only this time, Astrid was right there to elbow him in the gut for his unhelpful comments. "Ow! Just trying to be accurate."

"Maybe she had a light with her too," Fishlegs finished for their leader. Hiccup nodded, showing he agreed.

"He did say to let the witch find us," Ruffnut said to herself in a quiet voice. More hugging herself then simply crossing her arms.

"And find us she did," Snotlout said, stepping up to the rest of the group. "And unless we want her to find us again, we should get out of here."

"Snotlout, we can't just leave. Tuff is still on this island somewhere, and we can't just leave him," Hiccup told them all.

"If any of you guy leave before we find him," Ruffnut interjected with a threatening tone, demanding everyone to listen. "I'll break every bone in your body and then I'll never speak to you again!"

"Pss! Is that supposed to be a threat?" Snotlout breathed out with an absurd chuckle, and a mean smile. But that smile quickly vanished as Ruffnut grabbed him by the front of his tunic again, this time, pulling him up to hold him close to her face.

"No, it's a promise," Ruffnut sneered in a dangerous tone before letting him go. As soon as she did, Ruffnut turned and walked away from him, walking over to Barf and Belch and grabbed her satchel from off Barf's saddle, then slung it over her shoulder before turning back to everyone else. "Well, are you guys coming or not?" Ruff asked like everything was normal as things could be for them.

Everyone was still a bit taken aback by Ruffnut's behavior, but it was understandable. She was worried for her brother, as they all were. So they all followed Ruffnut's lead and made their way into the forest in front of them.

* * *

The sun was setting fast on Fireworm Island as the rest of the young riders walked through the woods. If they did not find Tuffnut Thorston soon, they would have no choice but to spend the night. Nobody wanted to sleep on the mysterious island with a 'witch' lurking around somewhere, but they all promised Ruffnut that none of them would leave until they found her brother.

"Wait, do you guys hear something?" Astrid said, making everyone pause in their walk to listen. Everything was quiet for a second, but they heard what she was talking about. Some sort of creaking, almost like stepping on an old wooden step, but different somehow that none of them could put their finger on.

Hiccup began to walk in the direction he was sure the strange sound was coming from. He pulled back some bushes to get by and there he saw it. The other riders approached as well and saw it too.

"Is that what I think it is?" Fishlegs asked to no one in particular as he stared at the strange things before them. The ropes and plank of wood Bork wrote about seeing during his trip here.

Hiccup walked up to the tree and stood right in front of the odd creation. It looked just as Bork described; two ropes, a foot or two apart, tied around the same branch of the tree. The ropes were long, dangling all the way down to the ground, but they didn't touch the ground, the other ends were tied to the sides of a small plank of wood. Creaking and swaying in the autumn breeze.

"What is this thing?" Hiccup curiously asked himself as he leaned down to look at it closer. Hiccup reached a hand up and was about to touch it when…

"Don't touch it!" Snotlout bolted to his cousin's side, grabbing his arm and pulling him farther away from the thing.

"Snotlout!" Hiccup exclaimed, surprised and annoyed.

"Whatever that thing is, the witch odiously made it, so it can't be good," Snotlout told him after Hiccup yanked his arm back. But before Hiccup could comment on his cousin's actions, the sound of a twig snapped somewhere among the trees around them. Then the sound of rustling.

"It's her," Fishlegs whimpered as he hugged Meatlug, who was also cowering.

Hiccup looked around until he determined the rustling was coming from the bushes behind them. The young leader turned to the bush and began to speak.

"Uh… Hello?" Hiccup tried to sound friendly. If this was the women who lived there. The witch. If he could get her to like them, everything would be okay. "I uh…my name is Hiccup and these are my friends," he said, gesturing to the other riders behind them. But the bush only rustled quietly once more. "We were in the caves with that boy that must have followed you," Hiccup continued to speak. "His name is Tuffnut."

"He's my brother," Ruffnut stepped up to speak to the 'witch' as well.

"Yeah, and we just want to find him and we'll leave. So if you know where he went, we could…" before Hiccup could finish, something flung out from the bush he was talking to and landed in the middle of the group. Everyone shrieked, but upon looking at the object did they see that it was only an eel.

This was nothing scary for a Viking, but absolutely terrifying for their dragons.

Upon seeing the eel, the dragons shrunk back in fear. One eel had them afraid. But another eel was thrown at them from the bushes. And another, and another, and more until the dragons were ballistic with fear.

The riders tried to calm their dragons and get rid of the eels, but they were not fast enough and they flew away riderless. And Toothless, who could not fly on his own, ran away faster than any of them had seen him before.

And now the riders had lost one of their own, and all their dragons.

* * *

 **It's a Halloween miracle! I was able to finish this chapter and post it today.**

 **And so, Happy Halloween to all! And to all a good fright!**


	5. Bad Seeds

**Sorry, I really wanted to post this next chapter sooner. But on the plus side, it is longer.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Bad Seeds**

 **...**

"Toothless! Toothless!" Hiccup called out.

"Stormfly!" Astrid hollered.

After their dragons were frightened away, they checked behind the bush the eels had been thrown from, but there was no one there. There were however, more of those flat, white seeds from the cave.

"Well this is just perfect! Now we've lost Tuff and all of our dragons," Snotlot ranted as they all regrouped, kicking one of the eels on the ground.

"And I think that witch might be following us now," Fishlegs added.

"We have to find our dragons. It's not good for all of us to be separated with that witch lurking around somewhere on this island," said Astrid.

"Not good for just us, actually," said Fishlegs timidly. Everyone looked to him for elaboration. "If they were as frightened as I'm estimating, they would have flown off the island to some neighboring smaller island or sea stacks. To get away, but also stay close because of us."

"But Toothless didn't fly away. He's still on this island and we need to fine him before that witch does," Hiccup told them all. But they all looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"You just said 'witch,'" Snotlout commented with a small smirk. Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"It's just a title. But it does not mean she is magic or evil," Hiccup said back, walking past his cousin.

"And if she does anything to Toothless before we find him?" Snotlout asked off-handedly. It was rhetorical, but it still made Hiccup stop in his tracks. The young leader took a deep breath before turning his head half way back to the others over his shoulder.

"Let's just keep going. He ran off this way," Hiccup said in a patient voice before walking in the direction Toothless ran off in.

Snotlout almost felt like he may have gone too far with that one. He knew how Hiccup can get when it's about Toothless. But he felt it was best to keep quiet for now. If he had a chance, maybe he would say something, but not in front of the others. So the other riders just followed after their leader in silence.

About half an hour into their walk, with only one Thorston twin and no dragons, Astrid looked over to Hiccup walking beside her. Hiccup stared straight ahead, but she could tell, she knew his 'thinking' face when she saw it, and he was sporting it.

"Hiccup? You okay?" she asked softly. Hiccup quickly snapped his head to her.

"Huh? Yeah, I was just thinking," Hiccup replied simply.

"About the witch?" Astrid asked.

"Yeah. Like, why did she throw eels at us?" Hiccup asked out loud.

"Hiccup, seriously? Even I know how terrified dragons are of eels," Snotlout stated, confused why Hiccup would say that.

"Exactly. How did she know that?" Hiccup asked, making everyone stop. "Only Fireworms live on this island. If she's lived here her whole life, she would know a lot about Fireworms. But how could she have known that eels would scare our dragons like that?"

Everyone was quiet for a moment to process this theory and think.

"Well, there could be two simple explanations for that," Snotlout spoke up. Everyone turned to him. "One, the witch has some bizarre magic or spell that lets her see the greatest fears of anyone or anything, including our dragons. Or two, she made Tuff tell her."

"You think she could be torturing Tuffnut as we speak?" Fishlegs asked worried and afraid.

"Nobody's allowed to torture my brother but me!" Ruffnut interjected.

"She probably wanted a way to get us away from our dragons so she could capture us all and use us for her freaky vegetable garden," Snotlout told menacingly.

"Guys," Hiccup spoke up to silence their far-fetched worrying. Astrid had lost interest in the others sharing their ridiculous theories and walked a yard or so ahead of them, pulling back some bushes to see what was around. "Whoever this person is, she may be shy or scared or confused; but that does not mean she is an actual witch, or she has magic or a big, freaky garden…"

"…filled with big, freaky vegetables," Astrid finished his sentence from over by the bushes, shock in her tone. Hiccup started walking over to her.

"Exactly, filled with…" Hiccup stopped in his speech once he reached her and saw what she was seeing. The others followed and saw it too. All five where baffled by the sight.

A big field, clear of any trees for at least a quarter mile. In the middle of the field was something that looked like a vertical pole in the ground with another shorter horizontal pole a little ways down from the top, something odd strapped to it that they couldn't identify from there. And all around that post were what Bork had described as strange, large, plump looking, vegetable-like-plant-things, growing out of every foot of the ground.

"Woah," was all Hiccup could say at the moment, before walking past the bush and over to the edge of the strange garden. The others warily followed after.

"What the heck are these things?" Astrid said, lightly kicking one with her boot.

"Not sure. But I said I was bringing one back to Berk, so I'm gonna," Ruffnut stated, pulling a knife out of her vest before walking around to find the perfect weird vegetable to take with her.

"They're just as Bork described them," Fishlegs dent down on one knee in front of one, examining it curiously. "Defiantly a plant. Plump, roundish, possibly even edible," he observed, placing both his hands on the strange thing.

"I'm not eating that," Snotlout sneered, backing away from the garden to lean his back up against a nearby tree.

"But they aren't glowing," Hiccup added, on one knee in front of one as well.

"What do you mean?" Astrid asked him.

"Bork mentioned that the witch was carrying one of these when he saw her by his boat, and it was glowing," Hiccup explained, knocking his knuckles on the plant, seeing if anything would happen. Nothing did.

"It was nighttime, maybe they only glow in the dark," said Astrid.

"Or maybe only the witch can make them glow when she touches them," Snotlout said from by the tree.

A few yards away, Ruffnut had found a vegetable that was a good size but not too big so it wouldn't be too much trouble to carry. After she had successfully sawed through the vine connecting it to the patch, she heard something.

"… _all that was lost is revealed."_

The voice was feminine, and beautiful. And fairly close by.

" _Our long bygone burdens, mere echoes of the spring._

 _But where have we come?_

 _And where shall we end?_

 _If dreams can't come true, than why not pretend?"_

Ruffnut's eyes scanned all across the field until she spotted a figure, in a dark cloak, hunched over a particularly large vegetable at the opposite edge of the garden.

" _How the gentle wind beckons through the leaves…"_

"Where's my brother, you hag?!" Ruffnut shouted across the field. The singing stopped. The other riders snapped to attention and looked to where Ruff was yelling to.

The figure in the cloak turned her head toward them, but no one could make out her face from under her hood. A second later, she took off running back into the forest.

Ruffnut, weird vegetable (less than half the size of a sheep) in her arms, took off through the garden after her. The other riders hot on her tail.

But a few yards into the tree line, they had all lost sight of the witch.

"I can't believe this! She was right there and now she's just gone!" Ruffnut fumed as she stomped around a spot in the forest while the other rider finally caught up to her.

"Ruff, what are you doing with that?" Astrid asked her, pointing to the bizarre vegetable in the Thorsten girl's arms.

"Do any of you guys listen?" Ruff snapped, but quickly realized what she just said and chuckled a little. "Weird, I'm the one saying that to you guys now. Anyway, I said I wanted one of these and bring it back to Berk."

"Ruff, those are the witch's. She must be mad already that we're on her island. How mad do you think she'll be if you stole from her?" Fishlegs tried to reason, fearing the possibility.

"Well she already stole Tuff from us, so I say she doesn't have the right to be mad at me for taking just one of her weird, vegetables things," Ruffnut snapped again, holding the thing out in front of her to the Ingermen boy.

"And I say, Berk doesn't need any or even just one of these creepy things," Snotlout snarled, grabbing the round thing from Ruff, throwing it to the ground, and bringing his boot down on it.

Everyone didn't know what was supposed to happen to the vegetable, or Snotlout's foot. So they didn't know what to think when his foot went right through its surface and into a hollow center.

"What the hell?!" Snotlout shouted, trying to balance on his opposite foot as he and everyone else stared at his other foot up in the air, trapped in the orange shell of unknown plant, trying to shake it off.

"They're hollow," Hiccup concluded.

"Get it off me! Get it off me!" Snotlout shrieked as he waved his arms and hopped around on one foot in horror.

"Just hold still Snotlout," Hiccup tried to help his cousin. When Snotlout finally listened and stopped hopping, Hiccup bent down, took a hold of the vegetable, and pulled it off his cousin's foot.

"Oh gods, gross!" Snotlout exclaimed as he looked back down at his foot after the vegetable was removed. Stuck to the bottom and most of the sides of his boot was bright orange, gooey, slop. With white seeds stuck in. "What the hell is this?!" Snotlout shouted again, trying to shake the revolting junk off his boot and wipe it off on the grass.

"Interesting," Hiccup said to himself as he held the broken vegetable up to peak an eye in to examine its insides. As he had thought, the plant itself was a hollow shell of the sturdy material on the outside. But inside, it was full of bright orange, slimy, goop. And among the goop, were dozens of that appeared to be seeds. "Wait a minute," Hiccup said, holding the base of the plant in one hand as he reached inside with the other. The other riders all made disgusted sounds, like their leader was wet with dragon saliva, as he did so. When Hiccup pulled his hand out, he held one of the seeds in between his index finger and thumb. Hiccup placed the vegetable back on the ground before wiping some lingering goop off the seed. After it was relatively clean, Hiccup reached into one of his riding suit pockets and pulled out one of the seeds he found on the ground back in the caves. Hiccup held the two seeds up to compare them. They were the same. "Look you guys, see!" Hiccup held the seeds out for the others to see. "It's the seeds! The seeds that the witch has been leaving behind. They come from these plants."

"Fascinating Hiccup, but how does that help us find her or Tuff?" Snotlout crossed his arms, uninterested by the discovery.

Before anyone else could say anything more, the riders started to hear, yet again, more rustling coming from the bushes. No one tried anything, they didn't have time, because whatever was back there made itself know faster than the riders could think of something they could do.

"Barf! Belch!" Ruffnut exclaimed in pure joy as her two-headed dragon walked out of the bushes. Ruff ran forward, embracing Barf's head while Belch nuzzled her from the other side.

"They don't appear to be injured," Fishlegs concluding, looking the two-headed dragon over.

Barf and Belch pulled away from their co-owner, gave a mild roar, and started pushing Ruffnut in the direction that they had come from.

"Guys, what are you doing?" Ruffnut asked, irritated to her shared dragon.

"They must want us to follow them," Hiccup suggested.

And so, with the group's Zippleback leading the way, the riders followed him back into the forest.

* * *

 **The song I sampled here was 'Into the Unknown' from _Over the Garden Wall_. Non of which I own any of.**

 **Still hope to finish this before the month is over ;) Please Review!**


	6. Nut in the Hut

**Still hoping to finish this before the end of the month, but no promises.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Nut in the Hut**

 **...**

Barf and Belch lead the teens through the forest, along a stream, with lead them to a rustic old hut. It reminded the teens of Mildew's hut back on Berk, but this one was simpler. No dragon heads carved in the wood, it was shaped more like a box then their houses, which were more triangular. But it still looked suitable enough to live in.

"This must be the witch's hut," Hiccup said as the riders and Zippleback walked into the area.

The riders decided to stay quiet. If this was really the witch's hut, she could still be around. She could have run here after she escaped their sights by her garden, and was hiding somewhere close by, waiting to get the drop on them. But Barf and Belch didn't have the same thought, because as soon as the young humans started walking around, looking at everything outside the old hut, the two-headed dragon bolted passed them, for the hut, and stuck both their heads in. After one quick look inside, they pulled their heads out and roared to the riders.

"Guys, settle down!" Ruffnut demanded to her dragon. The Thorsten girl approached her dragon to try and calm them. "What has gotten into… gah!" Ruff tried patting Barf's head, but Belch grabbed the neck of her tunic with his teeth, pulled her away from the head she road, and into the front door of the hut. The door opened into the hut when she hit it, and Ruffnut stumbled inside.

Barf and Belch backed away as the other riders came up to the front of the hut to help Ruffnut, her legs sticking out of the door way as she lay on the ground, the rest of her in the hut. Ruffnut regained her bearings and lifted her upper half off the hut's dirt floor.

"Ruff, you alright?" she could hear Astrid ask from outside.

"Peachy," she groaned loud enough for the others to hear her. She wasn't in any pain, just annoyed by what her dragon did.

Ruffnut looked around the hut from where she lay, propped up on her elbows. To her left, she saw a window with shelves under, above and on both sides of it, cluttered with jars, bottles, and bags of she-wasn't-sure-what. As well as a lot of candles. Across from her, there was a table with three chairs around it and various dishes and books on top, and even more candles. And to her right she saw…

"Tuff!"

Ruffnut bolted to her feet and ran to her brother laying on the small bed on the right side of the door. There was a blanket covering him up to the middle of his chest and his helmet was off his head and hung on one of the bed posts. Upon hearing her outburst, the other riders ran into the hut as well, seeing their missing friend, unconscious on the bed inside the small hut. And his sister by his side.

"Is he okay?" Astrid asked concerned.

Fishlegs walked passed them all to look Tuffnut over. "He's definitely breathing," he concluded by the steady rise and fall of his chest. "And it doesn't look like he's hurt," he also verified. After pulling back the blanket that covered most of him, they didn't see anything visibly wrong with him.

"Hurt or not, why won't he wake up?" Ruffnut asked, shaking her brother's shoulders and arms like there was no tomorrow. Tuffnut did not stir.

Fishlegs gestured for her to step aside so he could check her brother's head. And sure enough, on the back of his head, close to the crown, was a bump the size of a small apple.

"Huh, he does have a bit of a bump on his head," Fishlegs observed, stepping back to let the others see.

"Okay, so she kidnapped Tuff and knocked him unconscious," Ruffnut summarized.

"Or she put him under some kind of spell," Snotlout suggested.

"Guys, will you stop it with the spells," Hiccup groaned with an annoyed sigh. "Let's just get Tuff out of here." Ruffnut grabbed her brother's helmet off the bed post while Fishlegs grabbed him by the shoulders and Snotlout got his feet. As they carried Tuffnut out, Ruffnut followed them out the door. Astrid was just about to follow them out as well, but stopped to see Hiccup making no move to leave. He stood there, looking down at the table.

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked her dear friend, walking up to stand by his side. Hiccup looks to her.

"Huh? Oh, I was just…" Hiccup trails off, looking back to the table and up at all the shelves. Astrid looked around with him.

"Yeah, it's kinda creepin' me out too," Astrid replied, staring at one of the strange vegetables from the garden, all hollowed out, on the dirt floor by one of the table legs.

"At least she doesn't have any dragon pelts or bones hanging on the walls," Hiccup said darkly, mixed with a bit of his famous sarcasm. Astrid looked back to her leader, his face turned down and troubled with worry. Astrid placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, Hiccup looked her in the eyes.

"He'll be fine. I'm sure they're all fine," Astrid said with a reassuring smile before leaning in to give him a loving kiss on the check. Hiccup smiled at the gesture, but their moment quickly ended when an alarming cacophony sounded from outside.

Hiccup and Astrid ran out of the hut to see Ruffnut with her unconscious brother on Barf and Belch's back. Snotlout and Fishlegs were still standing on the ground, looking alarmingly at the sky.

"What was that?" Hiccup demanded to know. But Astrid jumped in before he could get his answer.

"Guys, the witch it mad at us as it is. We're on her island and now we've come into her living space," Astrid warned, annoyed that they were messing with the witch's positions too.

"That wasn't us. Something just fell out of nowhere and hit that pot," Fishlegs told them, pointing to the fire pit with a pot hung over it. Well, now the pot was knocked off the rack and on the ground. And around the pot and a little in it, were the broken remains of a smashed orange vegetable from the witch's garden.

Hiccup walked up slowly to the pot, looking curiously at the smashed vegetable pieces.

"What the…" before Hiccup could even finish his thought, he heard his friends, but mostly Fishlegs, scream. Along with a smashing sound.

Hiccup turned in alarm and saw them all starring at another smashed orange vegetable on the ground, in between Fishlegs and Snotlout. He knew for a fact that that wasn't there before. And before anyone could say 'take cover!' yet another orange vegetable came flying over their heads, and smashing to the ground of the witch's yard.

Everyone jumped back in surprise and terror from the hurling vegetable. "It's the witch!" Snotlout shouted, looking all around the skies for any sight of her. But she was nowhere to be seen.

After another vegetable hit the ground around them, Hiccup hear Barf and Belch roar to get his attention. The young heir looked to see them nodding in the northern direction, back into the forest.

"Let's get out of here! Back into the woods!" Hiccup yelled to everyone, waving for them to follow him after Barf and Belch.

Hiccup didn't exactly know what the Zippleback had in mind, leading them in that direction, but they did lead them to Tuff. They must know more about this island then they do. They probably know a safe place for them to camp for the night. Because Odin knows they won't be leaving for home this day.

* * *

It was almost sunset. With Tuffnut still unconscious and Ruffnut with him on their back to keep him from falling off, Barf and Belch lead the teens through the forest and to the island's north beach. And they were not alone.

"Stormfly!" Astrid cried in joy, running up to her dragon waiting for her in the sand.

"Meatlug!" Fishlegs squealed, tackling his Gronckle in a big bear hug. "Oh, I'm so sorry those eels scared you. I know you would never leave me like that."

"Hookfang! Come here, you overgrown Fireworm!" Snotlout ran to the Monstrous Nightmare lying in the sand.

Hiccup looked around with an excited smile on his face, expecting his Night Fury to come up out of nowhere, pounce on him, and give him a big lick to the face. But it did not come.

Hiccup's smile immediately dropped. "He's not here," Hiccup lamented, sinking to his knees in the sand. Toothless had not been waiting on the beach with the other dragons. Everyone heard his devastated remark and looked around as well. The Night Fury was nowhere in sight. Astrid walked away from her Nadder and kneeled by Hiccup's side.

"If Toothless isn't here, you could try bringing him to you," Astrid suggested. Hiccup raised his head back up to see her reassuring smile. Hiccup tried to return the smile as they stood.

"I'll get a fire going," Snotlout hollered over, starting to collect dry wood on the beach.

"I'll help Ruff get Tuff situated," Fishlegs said, walking over to Barf and Belch. Fishlegs helped Ruffnut lower her brother off the Zippleback's back and carried him over to a tree at the edge of the sand that lead into the forest, where Snotlout was setting up a fire pit.

Hiccup watched them, grateful for they're consideration. Astrid gave him a quick hug before walking over to the rest of the group. Hiccup watching her as she walked away, her Nadder following after her.

The young heir looked back to the forest and started walking closer to it, a few yards down the beach from his friends. Hiccup stared into the forest for a minute or two, thinking about where his best friend could be. Why hadn't he found him yet? And what that witch might be up to.

After giving a deep sigh to calm his nerves, Hiccup squared his shoulders, brought both his hands up to cup both sides of his mouth, and hollered a Night Fury call louder than he's ever produced in his young adult life.

* * *

On the southeastern side of the island, a figure in a cloak stood by a trench, looking down at the sleepy, black-scaled dragon at the bottom.

"Please forgive me. But they need to leave."


	7. Lights in the Dark of Dawn

**I'm so ashamed. I couldn't finish this before the month was over :'(**

 **But, I only have a couple more chapters left, so hopefully I can finish it before this month is over (the year).**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Lights in the Dark of Dawn**

 **...**

The sun had set and the moon was up over Fireworm Island. With their dragons help, the riders had caught several fish for dinner, and were roasting over the fire. Astrid, Snotlout, and Fishlegs were on the side of the fire with their backs facing the beach with their dragons, while Ruffnut was on the other side, her back to a tree and Tuffnut's head in her lap, still unconscious.

"He'll be fine," Astrid said across the fire. Ruff lifted her head to see Astrid giving her a reassuring smile and nod. Ruff made an attempt to smile back before looking back down at her brother. The twins may fight more often than anything else, but they did care about one another. They stared a womb after all.

As the riders started taking fish off the rotisserie to chow-down, they heard another Night Fury call from down the beach. But they knew it was not from an actual Night Fury. Astrid turned her head and saw Hiccup standing a few yards down the beach from their camp, facing away from them, into the woods. Astrid stood and started to make her way towards him.

Hiccup didn't turn around but he could hear the person approaching him. And he also didn't need to look to know it was Astrid.

"The fish is ready," Astrid said as she stood behind her dear friend. Hiccup didn't turn to her. Astrid stepped closer to him, just so she could look over his shoulder and see the left side of his face. Hiccup tilted his head down to not let Astrid see how upset and worried he was.

Not being able to stand seeing Hiccup in this state, Astrid gently pressed herself into Hiccup's back. Hiccup was slightly startled by the contact but quickly welcomed the comfort as Astrid wrapped her arms around his middle, burying her face between his shoulder blades.

"We'll find him," Astrid said into his back but so Hiccup could still hear her. Hiccup brought a hand up and placed it on top of Astrid's, giving it a gentle squeeze. Allowing himself to smile.

They stayed like that for a minute or two before Astrid pulled away and took a hold of his hand. They were ready to walk back to the fire together to eat and get warm, but as they turned back, they heard the distant cries of their friends hollering their names and saw Fishlegs on his feet, waving his arms in the air to and fro. So instead, Hiccup and Astrid _ran_ back to the camp.

"Astrid! Hiccup!" Fishlegs hollered as the two approached the camp fire.

"What's going on," Hiccup asked concerned, putting aside his previous troubles for the moment.

"Tuff is starting to wake up," Fishlegs said half relieved but half concerned. Hiccup's attention immediately went down to the twins. Ruffnut had removed her brother's head from her lap and placed one of their satchels under it as a pillow, but she remained by his side. And sure enough, Tuffnut was starting to stir.

Hiccup kneeled down on the opposite side of the Thorsten boy, across from his sister. Lightly shaking his shoulder. "Tuff? Tuff, can you hear me?"

Tuffnut moaned a little before finally, slowly opening his eyes. "Hahhhh… w-what?" he moaned, blinking to regain his vision. Everyone sighed in relief.

"Oh thank Odin," Hiccup sighed. "How are you feeling?"

"My… head kinda hurts,"Tuffnut said starting to sit up a bit with the help of his sister.

"Here, drink some water," Snotlout said, reaching passed everyone else to hand Tuff a bottle of fresh water they packed.

Tuffnut accepted the water and took a few sips before speaking again. "W-what happened?"

"The witch, that's what happened," Ruffnut answered, still watching her brother carefully.

"The witch?" Tuffnut asked confused.

"Tuff, what happened to you in the cave?" Hiccup asked him.

"The cave?" Tuffnut asked again, looking confused at everyone there.

"Yes the cave genius," Snotlout replied, rolling his eyes.

"I… I don't know," Tuff said looking down.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Astrid asked from behind Hiccup.

"Tuff, the witch. What did she do to you when we were in the cave?" Hiccup pressed on.

"I…" Tuffnut tried to think. "…don't remember."

Ruffnut wanted to say something else but didn't know what. She looked to Hiccup for help and he looked just as concerned as she did. But Hiccup was better in times like these.

"Tuff, what's the last thing you do remember?" Hiccup asked again.

Tuffnut paused for a moment to think back. "We were in the cave…walking down the tunnel with some torches… Snotlout was complaining that we couldn't find any bones, and… that's it."

"That's it? That's all you can remember?" Hiccup made sure.

"You don't remember the witch or anything else?" Astrid asked.

"That blow to the head must have messed with some of his memory," Fishlegs suggested.

"Come on," Snotlout said, not believing it. "Tuffs' been hit in the head more times than Hookfang has set me on fire, and this has never happened."

"He wasn't wearing his helmet when we found him, maybe the witch hit him when he wasn't wearing it," Fishlegs suggested again.

"Yeah, that's why we always have them on. So we can bash our heads on anything," Ruff added, knocking her knuckled to her helmet to show her point.

"Wait," Tuffnut said, regaining everyone's attention. Tuff thought for an extra moment before talking. "Ahhhh… a song."

"What?" Hiccup said with a raised eyebrow.

"I remember a voice singing a song," said Tuffnut, looking up at the sky as he recalled the only thing about the event he could at the moment. "I can't remember the song exactly but I know I heard it," his voice became quieter and he smiled a bit. "It was slow and the voice was… beautiful."

"You were probably hallucinating," Fishlegs interjected, breaking Tuffnut out of his fantasy.

"No he wasn't," Ruffnut said bluntly. Everyone turned to her. "It was the witch."

"What are you talking about?" Hiccup asked her.

"Back when I saw the witch by the garden, I didn't notice her there at first. I heard a pretty voice singing a song. That's when I saw her. And when I shouted to her the singing stopped," the Thorsten girl explained.

"You think that was the witch singing?" Hiccup thought out loud.

"How could that have been the witch? She's an old, scraggly-voiced hag, how could she sing like an angle?" Astrid asked.

"Maybe she's also some kind of siren and can make her voice sound beautiful and irresistible when she sings," Fishlegs suggested, lots of fear in his voice.

"Leading us into a false sense of security, so she can get us," Snotlout concluded, freaking out a little himself.

"Yeah well siren or not, we know she's out there, so we know not too fall for any tricks she may pull," Hiccup said to his team. Everyone became quiet as he rose back up to stand. "Let's just get some sleep. I'll take the first watch." Everyone nodded in understanding before walking over to their dragons, cuddling up by them and closing their eyes.

After everything was quiet again, minus the sound of the fire crackling, Hiccup sat on the opposite side from the others with one of the cooked fish. After he was done eating it he started poking at the fire with the stick. Hiccup was always alert when he was on guard while the others slept when they camped out. But tonight he kept one ear open for Night Fury calls, and the other for anything else. Anything including beautiful singing.

* * *

A few hours later, it was barley dawn, the sun was minutes away from the horizon. Hiccup had gone to sleep after the first couple hours of his shift and Astrid took the rest. Astrid watched the embers of the fire glow and fizzle into dark ash as she stood a few feet away, shifting her focus back and forth between the camp and the forest. Her axe in her hand.

Astrid was never one to believe in magic. She hardly believed the scary stories about trolls and gnomes when she was five, but now she knows for a fact that they were all nonsense. But right now, all she knows is that there is a dangerous women on this island with them, somewhere among the trees before her. Magic or not. She wasn't going to let this _person_ touch her or her friends.

Dragon and human.

It had been quiet all night. Hiccup hadn't heard or seen anything during his shift and neither had Astrid. Feeling bored, she turned her eyes down to the sand to look for a smooth stone to sharpen her axe with while she watched. It took her less than twenty seconds to locate a good-sized one in the sand within her reach and raise back up to her full height. But when her eyes went back to the forest, she almost jumped out of her skin.

Floating among the trees, and coming their way, were dozens of little balls of light, glowing eerily in the dark pre-dawn.

Astrid wasn't sure if these floating orbs themselves were dangerous or not, but she remembered from Bork's story that they did mean that that witch was close.

Astrid dropped the stone and ran back to the camp. "Wake up! Get up guys! She coming! Get up!" she yelled. Everyone bolted awake and saw them too, coming out from the woods towards the beach.

Everyone hopped on their dragons backs, ready to defend. Hiccup stood by Stormfly, looking all around at the floating orbs of red and orange light, surrounding them, cutting them off from the woods and the western side of the beach. But as Hiccup turned his head to look behind them, he saw something peculiar; there weren't any back there. They left the eastern side of the beach wide open for them.

Whatever these things were, they were either dumb enough to give them an opening to escape, or smart enough to lead them into a trap. Either way, they couldn't stick around.

"Everyone, fall back! Fly east but stay by the beach!" Hiccup ordered to everyone. Astrid offered him a hand up and he hopped onto Stormfly's saddle behind her. Everyone's dragons flew off the sand and started flying low in the air, down the beach. As they flew, they saw more floating lights in the woods by the beach.

"What the hell are those thing?!" Snotlout hollered, freaky out.

"Bork mentioned floating balls of light here," Fishlegs answered, very scared himself. "And where there are floating lights, there's'…"

"The witch!" Ruffnut yelled, interrupting the larger teen, pointing back down to the beach directly below them.

Everyone else looked too, and sure enough, there was a figure in a dark cloak, just standing there in the middle of the beach, facing the direction they were coming from. Like she was expecting them. Waiting for them.

Hiccup was just about to ask Astrid to land by the mysterious person so they could try and talk again. But before he could ask, he saw the witch drop something in the sand right before dashing away, back into the forest.

Hiccup still wanted to follow her, but first he wanted to know what she left behind. And it's a good thing he did. But in a different way, not so good. Because as soon as Stormfly touched back down on that beach, Hiccup hopped off, stooped down to look, and knew immediately what she left for them.

Scales. Black scales. Defiantly dragon. Defiantly Night Fury.

Hiccup was right. That witch did know where Toothless was.

"After her!" Hiccup ordered everyone, anger evident in his voice.

If that witch had done anything to his best friend….

Hiccup hopped back on Stormfly and she and the other riders shot into the woods, after the witch.

* * *

 **Cliffhanger, I know! But stay tuned my fellow dragon riders. ;)**


	8. Smoking Punch

**Sorry it's been longer then I hoped. And I don't believe this will be finished by the end of this month; as the end of the month and the year, is tomorrow.**

 **But, with a little luck and a lot less procrastination, I could have the next chapter up sometime tomorrow.**

 **(And sorry if my titles for chapters are getting worse. If u can think of a better name for any of these, feel free to mention them in your review ;)**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Smoking Punch**

 **...**

They had lost sight of the witch a while ago. They had no idea she was so fast. Especially for a women of her estimated age. They figured it was another 'power' of hers.

But their dragons could smell her and follow her trail just find.

After another minute or two of flying through the woods, the cluster of trees broke and before the riders was a wide, rocky trench. Almost twice as wide as the Cove at Raven Point, but roughly as deep. But it was still not bright out enough to see clearly down in.

Hiccup looked around the perimeter of the trench and spotted the figure in the dark cloak yet again. The witch; just standing on one of the large rocks at the edge of the trench with a candle in her hand.

Hiccup glared down at the being as he and the other riders circled the air above the trench.

"There she is. What do we do now?" Tuffnut thought out loud.

Before anyone could say another word, they heard a high pitched whistle. They looked down again, assuming the witch did it to get their attention. They watched as the witch raised the candle she had above her head, and threw it into the trench. When it hit the bottom, the fire of the candle started to spread. The fire shaped into a large circle; an easy target for her to hit. Then it spread down a line, a few yards long, then finally parted into the outline of a half circle. In the light of the fire, they could finally see down in the dark trench.

"Toothless!" Hiccup yelled, seeing his dragon laying in the half circle, curled up with his eyes closed. Hiccup was very worried. Was his dragon just unconscious? Or worse? But his worry was short lived, because not a second later, Toothless' eyes shot open and he stood on his four paws, staring alarmed at the fire and started to roar as he backed away to a small, bare space between the smoking floor and the trench's wall.

Hiccup told Astrid to set them down in the trench. Stormfly descended the sky and hovered in the trench but did not land because of the burning substance on the trench floor. There wasn't a lot of fire however. Whatever it was, it was layered thinly on the stone but did produce a lot of smoke. The smoke smelled herby and pungent.

Hiccup leaped off Stormfly's back as she hovered. Stormfly was fidgeting a lot, not liking the smoke too much. And by Toothless' cries, he didn't like the smell either. Hiccup made his way over to his dragon, covering his mouth and nose with one hand and swatting at the smoke with the other. All while trying to stomp out the burning herbs as he walked over them.

When Hiccup finally made it to Toothless, the Night Fury was devoid of the bothering smoke and went over to his rider, ecstatic to see him. Hiccup gave his best friend a quick hug, happy to see him safe, but immediately pulled away to mount him and fly them out.

As they left the trench, Hiccup and Toothless were coughing, and flew to join the others in the sky. They were also coughing a bit from the rising smoke from the trench close by.

"Okay, *cough-cough*… that happened. *cough*" Snotlout said between hacks.

"Yeah, *cough-cough* but at least we're all okay," Hiccup said, patting Toothless' head happily.

Fishlegs coughed one more time before replying. "Yes, now can we please go home? It's Harvest Scare Day and we need to get back in time for the bomb fire."

"Wait, where did the witch go?" Ruffnut asked, looking down again.

Everyone else did the same and saw she was right. All along every edge of the trench; no witch in sight.

"She's gone," Astrid confirmed.

"It doesn't matter anymore. We came, we saw, and now we know she exists," Hiccup told them, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "And now that we're all back together, let's just leave."

"But I never learned the truth," Tuffnut retaliated.

"The witch is real. She's scary and crazy. Isn't that truth enough for you?!" Snotlout hollered, fear in his voice.

"I said I was going to look upon the face of a witch and I'm…" Tuffnut protested, but was cut off by his sister as she punched him in the right side of his face.

"Bro, get a grip! If we go after her and she doesn't kill you, then I will," Ruffnut said viciously.

Tuff rubbed his right cheek and looked annoyed for a moment before his face shifted. Tuff's eyes widened and stared off into deep thought. He didn't look at anyone or anything, just staring down. Everyone looked at him confused.

"Tuff?" Hiccup asked. But Tuffnut didn't pay him or anyone else any attention.

They watched as Tuff slowly moved his hand from his right cheek to his left.

"She punched me," Tuffnut said just above a whisper.

"Yeah, I punch you when you're acting like an idiot," Ruffnut said crudely to him, but Tuff still payed her no mind.

Another moment later, Tuffnut snapped his head back up and jerked Belch towards the ground.

"Hey!" Ruffnut protested as Barf followed Belch's lead in their descent back to the ground.

"Tuff, what are you doing?!" Hiccup hollered to the male Thorston. He and the others were reluctant to follow but did, landing their dragons beside the Zippleback. Tuffnut dismounted and walked around, staring off into the trees beside the trench. Like he was looking for something. Or someone.

"Tuff?" Astrid asked after dismounting her own dragon, but once again Tuffnut ignored.

"He's finally lost it," Snotlout muttered to Fishlegs standing beside him. They had also dismounted.

Tuffnut continued to search along the trees with his eyes until Toothless gave a roar from behind them. After Hiccup had also dismounted, he didn't notice his Night Fury had wondered away a few yards, sniffing around. He was looking for something too. And he found it.

Everyone turned, Tuffnut was the first to move, and they all ran around a few boulders by the trench. And right there was Toothless, growling in a defensive stand at a hooded figure with their back to a tall boulder, right in front of him.

The witch. With one of those glowing orbs in her hands.

"Ha! We got her!" Snotlout cheered triumphantly.

Hiccup stood up front, determined and a bit mad. "What was that all about? Scaring away our dragon and kidnapping our friend?" he said calmly but sure to get his point across that he was not happy about what he and his friends had been through since they got there. "We never meant any harm," Hiccup took another step closer, but the witch thrusted her orb closer to Hiccup, making him shutter back.

"You," the witch said in a soft but crackly voice, pointing a long finger nail at the young heir. "…stay back. All of you," she waved her hand at the whole group. Her hands covered by gloves with the fingers cut off halfway up.

Everyone stepped back, fearing the witch's power and the nature of those glowing orbs she always has. But Tuffnut did not move. He stared hard, deep in though at the orb, then back up at the witch's concealed face. Then, he stared stepping closer.

"Tuff, what are you doing?" Hiccup whisper-shouted to the male twin, but decided to stay back with the others. Tuffnut once again, ignored him as he slowly advanced closer to the witch.

"Stay back," the witch warned, swiftly holding a hand out to make him keep his distance. "I warn you," the witch backed up into the rock behind her as Tuff got closer. "Stay away from me." But Tuffnut did not stop.

When the witch could back up no more, she held the glowing orb closer out to Tuff, hopping it would frighten him enough to make him back off. Tuffnut did stop however. He stood there, staring at the orb, hard.

"You take one more step…" the witch threatened, low and sinister in her crackly voice as she held out the sphere in both hands. "… and I will summon the fire of a hundred dragons to burn…" Tuffnut swatted the orb out of her hands, cutting off her threat.

The other riders gasped as the orb touched Tuff's hand and then landed in the grass they stood on; hitting the ground with a paper-like crinkle sound. They continued to look at the sphere on the ground, watching as the light of it started to flicker and dim a bit. And before anyone could comment on the odd thing, out of a little hole in the side of the slightly crumpled paper sphere, crawled a Fireworm.

The other riders and their dragons all moved there attention back to Tuff and the witch. The witch raised an arm, meant to strike at the lanky, blonde Viking.

"You dare…" the witch's crackly voice snapped, but Tuffnut once again cut her off by grabbing her raised arm. Then, quick as a Nadder, Tuffnut reached up with his other hand and yanked the hood clear off the witch's head.

All the others behind the male Thorston twin gasped. But Tuffnut's eyes only widened in recollection.

"Now I remember!"

* * *

 **Next chapter; flash back.**

 **Hope u had a nice holiday and see u again (hopefully) on New Years Eve tomorrow!**


	9. You Don't Punch Like An Old Woman

**As promised, the next chapter after just one day. It's very sort and is a flash back.**

 **Happy New Year!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: You Don't Punch Like An Old Women**

 **...**

 _(Yesterday; back in the cave):_

Tuffnut hung onto the witch's cloak as she made her escape out of the chamber where his friends were. The witch tried to push the blonde Viking boy off her, but he would not let go. They struggled with each other until she tripped, making Tuffnut fall as well, and the two tumbled down the ramp of the witch's secret tunnel together.

When they stopped, they reached another part of the tunnel where the ground was more level, where an orb of light sat on one of the rocks. Tuffnut rose to his feet with a groan, then shrieked when he saw the orb. He remembered Hiccup mention something like them in Bork's story.

The witch rose back to her feet as well, dusting herself off.

"Witch of Fireworm Island! I, Tuffnut Thorsten, am here for the truth!" Tuffnut proclaimed boldly. The witch turned, her face still shrouded by her hood.

"You stay away from me!" she demanded, her voice crackly and almost hissing. The witch side-stepped, not removing her gaze from the blonde male Viking, until she made it to the glowing orb on a rock.

"Please sorceress! If you'll let me see your wicked face, I'll leave," Tuffnut tried to beg, stepping a bit closer.

"You dare insult me!?" she snapped a bit louder, holding the orb. "Leave this place before I smite you where you stand!" But Tuffnut did not back up.

"But I came here to discover the truth. And I am not leaving until I know!" he protested, stomping closer, trying to pier under her hood to see her face. The witch tried to back away from him more. Then Tuff's attention was diverted to the orange, glowing sphere in her arms. "Woah, what are these things made out of anyway?"

The witch whipped herself further away from him. "I told you to keep away from me!" she screamed. But Tuffnut payed her outburst no mind as he tried to get a better look at the orb.

Tuffnut reached out to touch it; his fingers just making contact. "Are they some kind of energy or magical glowing…" Tuff was cut off, as the witch reeled her right arm back and hurled her fist into his left cheek.

Tuff stumbled back a bit from the blow. But he smiled, intrigued. He was impressed.

"Woah, good punch. Almost as good as my…." Tuffnut stopped himself as he really thought about how that punch felt. He had been punched, slapped, kicked, and even clubbed by a lot of different kinds of people in his eighteen years of life. He knew what it felt like to be kicked by toddlers, clubbed by elder Gothi's staff, slapped by a mild-aged man, and has been beaten in many different ways by his own sister. And he knew what being punched by an old women was supposed to feel like, and this witch did not punch like one.

"You don't punch like an old hag," Tuffnut said with a stoic face, taking more steps closer to her.

"C-come any closer and I-I'll do more than that," the witch warned timidly, backing away from him as he got closer. "I'll turn you to stone."

"You punch like my sister."

"I-I'll peel your skin off l-like an onion."

"Or Astrid."

"I'll grinned your b-bone to make my bread. I-I'll…" Tuffnut cut her off by grabbing her shoulder and, with his other hand, whipped her hood right off her head.

Tuffnut knew already, but was still shocked by what he saw. As he looked into her deep, fiery, hazel eyes.

After a heart beat or two, the witch yanked herself from Tuffnut's hold, knocking her glowing orb to the ground. Also knocking Tuff's helmet off his head. Tuffnut watched in surprise as the sphere gave a paper-like crinkle sound when it fell, before a Fireworm crawled out.

"No, come back!" she yelled to the little dragon as he started to crawl further down the tunnel.

Tuffnut looked bewildered, down at the sphere, no longer glowing whatsoever, on the stone floor. He kicked it once before picking it up. And sure enough, it sounded and felt like paper.

But before Tuffnut could even voice a word on what was going through his mind, his shoulders were pulled from behind him and shoved into the cave wall. Tuffnut's uncovered head hit the stone.

The witch stepped back, waiting a moment to see if the blonde was unconscious, but Tuff was only dazed as he laid on the floor of the tunnel. Thinking of no other solution, the witch reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small rag with a bottle. After dropping a few drops of liquid from the bottle onto the rag, the witch brought the rag to Tuffnut's mouth and nose.

Tuffnut, still spinning from the blow to the head, hardly struggled as he breathed in the bitter smelling fumes, and he eventually passed out.

The witch stood before the now unconscious boy, feeling an odd mix of annoyance, frustration, and fear. But she always felt like that when strangers came to her island. But for the first time, she felt something she hadn't before. As she looked at his face; eyes closed, face relaxed, and completely out, she looked closer at him and saw how peaceful he looked. And then she felt guilty for doing what she had to him. But she shook herself from that because she knew what had to be done.

"Forgive me. But you and your friends need to leave."

And so, after picking up his helmet and pulling her hood back on, she grabbed Tuffnut by the ankles and started to drag him down the tunnel, out of the cave, and back to her hut.

 ** _Flash Back over._**


	10. The Truth About Fear

**I'M FINALLY BACK! Sorry for the long wait.**

 **This chapter is the longest one so far, mostly because it explains all about the witch.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: The Truth About Fear**

 **...**

As the sun rose, brightening up the trench and the area around it, where the riders and their dragons stood, all of them looking at the face of the witch.

The _young_ face of the witch.

"Huh, for an old hag she doesn't look half bad," Snotlout muttered to Fishlegs. That broke everyone's trance of staring and they all rolled their eyes with a soft groan.

"That's because I'm eighteen-years-old, you simpleton," the girl said annoyed, only this time her voice wasn't crackly and awful. She sounded like a normal girl of the age she said she was, with a bit of an accent none of them had ever heard before.

Astrid stepped forward, picking up the crumpled paper sphere. "You're not a real witch, are you?" she asked, not exactly needing an answer to know it was the case. The girl opened her mouth, looking like she wanted to protest, but no words came out as she looked at all their faces. She had never met anyone her own age before, and this was the closest she had been to a dragon without it being unconscious or while trying to frighten it away with eel. The girl closer her mouth and numbly shook her head.

"Okay, what is going on?" Hiccup asked, stepping up himself. All attention quickly went to him. "Who are you?" he asked directly to the girl, calmly but still serious.

The girl looked from Tuffnut beside her then back at Hiccup and sighed. "You want the whole story?" she asked. Hiccup was a bit puzzled by this question but nodded none the less. "Well you've already been in my house and seen my face, so why not? Come," the girl started walking, waving her arm to signal everyone else to follow her.

Hiccup exchanged looks with the other riders while Tuffnut immediately started walking after the mysterious girl. Hiccup was hesitant, but followed none the less. And the others did as well.

* * *

After a few minutes of silent waking, the girl had led them back to her hut. The pot hanging over the fire pit was fixed and all the globs of smashed orange goop and seeds were gone.

"I see you cleaned up," Astrid said, looking around the girl's front yard.

"Did you throw those things at us when we were here yesterday?" Fishlegs asked accusingly.

The girl stared rolling three logs and a stump over to the fire pit as she replied. "I will admit, it was a bit rash but I didn't want you sticking around any longer then you were," after the logs were in place around the fire pit, the girl clapped the dirt off her hands and looked to the riders all standing around her property. "And I didn't hit any of you, did I?" she asked, genuinely concerned.

"No, but you almost gave me a heart attack," Snotlout said rudely, crossing his arms.

"Excellent," she said relieved. The riders all gave her odd looks from her response. The girl's eyes widened, realizing how that must have sounded. "Sorry I mean… any of you thirsty? I can make some tea," she tried to turn that around and be humble, gesturing to the logs she just set by the fire pit for them to sit on, with a somewhat forced smile.

When no one sat down, Hiccup looked to everyone, shrugged with a somewhat encouraging face and sat down on the end of one of the logs. Astrid sat next to Hiccup on the middle log, they're backs to the hut. Snotout and Fishlegs sat on the log to their right, and the twins took the log across from them. The stump sat in between Hiccup's log and the twins. As the other riders sat down, the girl busied herself, filling a kettle with water and hanging it over the pit in front of them. As she walked away to get something else, Hiccup signaled for Toothless to light the fire. Hearing this, the girl turned and saw the fire pit lit. Already heating up the kettle.

"Thank you," she said shyly, not sure which one of them to thank because there were five different dragons lying beside the logs where the six strangers sat. Hiccup nodded with a pleasant smile to her.

The girl turned away again, fixing up herbs for the tea at a table up against the outside of her hut. Over the gentle crackle of the fire, the riders could hear a mumbled, but lovely, voice singing.

" _How the gentle wind beckons through the leaves_

 _As autumn colors fall_

 _Dancing in a swirl of golden memories_

 _The loveliest lies of all"_

The song itself was unfamiliar to all of them, but the voice, Ruffnut recognized immediately.

"So you _can_ sing?" Ruffnut asked from across the fire. The singing stopped.

"Very often, yes," the girl replied, loud enough for them all to hear her from the distance.

"And you were just faking that crackly, old women voice?" Astrid confirmed by asking.

"I had to," she said with an apologetic tone, turning back to them briefly. After sharing a quick look with the riders, she turned back to preparing the herbs. Everything was quiet again until the girl started walking over to the riders with a tray of miss-matched cups. Some ceramic and some wooden. When the girl made it to the circle of logs, she tripped on a rock. But Tuff was sitting right there to stop her from losing any of the cups. After she righted herself, and shared a quick look with the male twin, then turned away with a pink tint to her cheeks. She had never been around other people like these strangers before, so she was a ball of nerves. But for some unfathomable reason, she still didn't mind them sticking around. The girl had taken her cloak off while she busy, now the riders had a better look at the rest of her appearance; she wore a light orange blouse with sleeves just below her elbows, a long blood-red skirt that ends just in the middle of her calves, and a pair of brown boots on her feet. She had also removed her finger-less gloves. "Sorry, I'm not used to having company like this before," she apologized after setting the tray on the ground to her side then sitting on the stump in between Tuffnut and Hiccup.

"Well, when you live all by yourself on an island of tiny Stoker dragons, I'd understand not having too many guests for a tea party," said Snotlout.

"Actually, quite a few people stop by this island. But I never let them stay long enough for tea," the girl said sheepishly, pulling her single, dark blonde braid from behind her head to nervously fiddle with while she talked. "In fact, I think you lot are the longest any strangers have ever stayed here with someone like me around," she gave a nervous chuckle.

"Someone like you?" Hiccup asked, raising an eye brow. The girl looked away, down at her feet shyly. "How long have you lived here?"

Taking a deep breathe to seal herself, the girl let go of her braid, letting it hang over her shoulder before answering. "I was born here. In that house," she said, gesturing behind her to the old hut. "And I've never left."

"So you're alone," Hiccup said, not exactly a question, but he wanted to be clear.

"I wasn't always alone," the girl said, starting to fiddle with her braid again. "I was raised here by my mother and her mother," and from there, the girl began her family story:

"Many years ago, my grandmother lived in a small village in a country on the mainland called France. She was a healer. But her methods were…odd to the other people of the village, so they wouldn't let her become a physician. They wrote her off as wicked and shunned her away. Called her a witch. But she still opened up her home and treated anyone who would come to her seeking help. Usually people who were desperate and could not afford medical treatment. But even so, the main reason people did not go to her, was fear.

Fear kept them away.

Then one day, a group of soldiers from a nearby battle limped into town. They were all injured very badly. The village doctor was overwhelmed with trying to treat them all. Some of the soldiers, while waiting to be treated, overheard some villagers talking about my grandmother. They heard them call her a crazy and wicked person, but they also said she was a healer. Most of the soldiers were also frightened by this and said they would wait for the doctor. But one of the soldiers didn't want to wait to die, and he was not afraid to ask this mysterious healer for help. So, after asking where she lived, the soldier limped all the way across the village and into the woods where my grandmother lived. And as he came onto her property, my grandmother immediately came to his aid and helped him into her cottage.

A few days passed, and the soldier was making a quick recovery in the caring hands of my grandmother. And during that time, the soldier started to grow extremely fond of her. And she did as well to him. And even after the soldier was completely recovered from his injuries, he stayed there with her.

And as weeks turned into months, the soldier and my grandmother fell in love. He didn't believe what the villagers said about her because he knew they were wrong. She was not wicked or evil, or had any kind of magic. She was as kind-hearted and intelligent as any normal young women.

She was just special. Unique.

And after about a year since he came to her, the soldier asked my grandmother to be his wife. And she agreed.

But no minister or priest in the village would marry them because they still believed my grandmother to be a witch. Left with no other options, they had a private wedding of just the two of them, where they simply said their vows and sealed it with a kiss.

And not long after that day, did my grandmother discover that she was pregnant.

My grandmother and her new husband, the former soldier, were over joyed at this news. But when the rest of the village heard, they were outraged. They already did not like a witch around their town, and they would not stand for a child to be 'born a witch.'

My grandmother stayed in her cottage and her husband did his best to care for her and keep anyone who may mean them harm away for the deration of her pregnancy. And several months later, my grandmother gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

Everything was peaceful at their cottage in the woods for the first month of their daughter's life. But early one morning, a mob of people from the village came, demanding the witch and her 'Devil child' be burned at the stake.

My grandfather, trying to save his family, packed his wife's things and told her to escape with their daughter through the tunnel under the cellar while he stalled the mob. My grandmother obeyed, taking my mother with her, she ran through the tunnel and escaped into the woods. And from that distance, she could see the villagers surround her cottage and burned it to the ground.

And she never saw her dear husband again.

After that, my grandmother traveled all the way to the shore, where she purchased a small fishing boat and sailed away with her daughter from the mainland.

My grandmother eventually found this island and settled here, where she raised her daughter by herself. Vowing to never live amongst other people again because they would never understand her.

She later discovered the inhabitants of the island. Little dragons with skin that burned as hot as the sun."

By the time that portion of her story was told, the tea had been made and a full cup of it was in the hands of every young adult in the circle. Each sipping it every now and then as they listened attentively.

"How did your grandmother befriend the Fireworms?" Hiccup asked curiously.

"Pumpkins," the girl simply said. The others looked from her to each other, more confused than ever. "Those things I was launching at you," she explained further. The riders all nodded in understanding, all mumbling 'oh's.

"Those are some weird vegetables," Ruffnut commented with a good-natured chuckle.

"Fruits," the girl corrected Ruff. Ruff and the others looked to her oddly again. "Pumpkins are fruits." Everyone else in the circle just shrugged before sipping their tea again. "Anyway, my grandmother discovered that Fireworms like to eat pumpkin. All she had to do was cut open the top and the little dragons would crawl in and eat all the insides, minus the seeds, leaving her an empty rind and more seeds to plant or cook."

"Cook?" Hiccup asked after swallowing.

"Yeah, if you bake them over a fire with a little sea salt, they are very tasty," the girl explained happily.

"Is that why we always found some at the places you'd been?" Fishlegs asked.

"Yes, I always carry a lot with me to snack on but some do fall out of my pocket," she said while reaching into her cloak pocket and pulled out several of the big, flat seeds they had seen before; slightly darker from being cooked and salt baked on. "Try one. It's like a sunflower seed," she offered, holding her hand out for Hiccup to take one.

Hiccup hesitated for a moment, but looking back at the girl, he saw she looked honest with no signs of threats or deception. So he took one, popped it in his mouth and chewed. "Muhhh, these _are_ like sunflower seeds," Hiccup grinned, liking the salty crunch of them.

"I also use the empty rinds for lanterns," the girl said, passing some seeds to the twins. Hiccup took more from her and started passing them down to the other three riders. Hiccup then gave a few to Toothless. The Night Fury purred, liking them too.

"Lanterns? So they don't glow on their own?" Astrid asked while taking some seeds from Hiccup.

"Of course not. When they're hollowed out, I put candles in them. It's very pretty," the girl said happily. Hiccup nodded in understanding, remembering seeing a hollowed out 'pumpkin' in her hut, as well as a lot of candles.

"I would have said creepy," Snotlout muttered under his breathe. Fishlegs, sitting right next to him, was the only one to hear him completely, and gave him a mindful nudge. Then passed a few seeds into the rude young man's hands.

"Where did they come from? We've never seen veg- I mean _fruits_ like these before," Fishlegs asked, inspecting the baked seed closely before popping it in his mouth.

"My grandmother grew them at her first home on the Mainland and she brought several seeds with her when she came here. So she planted a new garden and started growing more," she simply answered. But there was more she had to explain. "Anyway, as the years went by, a few travelers would dock on her island. But because she didn't want them discovering her and judging her as a wicked and awful creature, she approached them herself and proclaimed herself as a real witch. Saying she did indeed have 'powers' and she would do horrible things to them if they did not leave her island. And they did. They were so afraid of what she said to them, that they just left her be.

And in case they didn't believe her or weren't afraid enough to leave, she always had tricks and other ways of scaring them off.

So instead of trying to convince them why she had to be left alone, she convinced them all to stay away. So no one would ever hurt her or her daughter again.

People's own fear kept them away from her before. So here, the fear she creates herself would kept them all away for good."

"Tricks. Like those floating orbs of light?" Astrid asked knowingly.

"As you saw; Fireworms in paper lanterns," the girl answered.

"What about those 'pumpkin' things flying at us," Fishlegs asked.

"A launcher my grandmother and mother built when mother was six," she stated simply. "It's right over there," she said, pointing to a small catapult-like devise, half hidden in the bushes, right by her hut. Everyone looked over to it and understood.

"What about bones and blood?" Snotlout asked after turning his attention back to the group. "We heard in a story about bones on the ground and blood on the walls of a cave."

"Oh that? Animal bones and the 'blood' was a special mix of water, berry juice, tree sap, and ground rose petals," she explained thoughtfully. "My grandmother's recipe," she shrugged before sipping her tea again.

"But what about you?" Hiccup asked. "How did you come to be?"

The girl began the next part of her story; "Well, when my mother grew into a young women, she told her mother that she wanted to travel a bit. She had never been off the island before and wanted to go to a different place or two then she would be back. She promised she'd be gone less than a year. It took a lot of persuasion, but Grandmother eventually agreed and let her go. My mother used the small boat my grandmother used to bring them here when she was a baby, and sailed off.

A few days later, she arrived at a port town called Murthach. She didn't have any money but she brought plenty to sell and trade for to support herself for a while. Grandmother warned her about other people and how they can be. And mother did encounter quite a few people who were rude and mean, but she also met a lot of nice people. Including my father.

She had met a kind fishermen who was ported with his crew, and while they were there to sell their fish and resupply, this fisherman spent a lot of time with my mother. They grew to love each other very much in the months that followed. And my mother grew to trust him with her life story of living on an island with her mother because the world would always assume people like them were evil and would never be accepted by other people. But the fisherman did not believe she was evil in the least, and still loved her.

More months went by, and the fisherman helped my mother live among the people in Murthach and introduced her to all of his friends. Then one day, my mother discovered that she was pregnant with the fishermen's child.

After she told her lover this, the fisherman was overjoyed and asked her to be his wife. She immediately said yes, but they could not be married yet. The fishermen's ship was going out to sea again. But he promised her that when he returned, the two of them would sail back to her mother's island together and they would all be a family. My mother accepted this and let him leave.

But he did not come back.

His ship was destroyed in a storm and many of the fishermen aboard were lost at sea or killed. Her lover among them.

My mother was devastated when one of his good friends told her the tragic news. After that, all my mother wanted to do was go back home. So, out of sympathy and the goodness of his heart, one of my father's good friends, a world-traveling trader, insisted to giving her a lift back in his ship. He too knew her story and swore himself to secrecy. He swore it to her and to grandmother when he brought her back here.

And ever since then, that trader has been the only one to come to this island without being frighten away by my grandmother or mother."

"So does the trader still come here to visit you?" Astrid asked.

"Yes, once every couple of months," the girl answered. "He trades with me for some of my herbs, vegetables, fruits, and Fireworm honey." Everyone abruptly looked to her, bewildered, after hearing that last thing.

"Fireworm honey?" Hiccup asked, not believing he had heard right.

"That's right. You all know a lot about dragons, yes?" she asked to be sure. The riders all nodded. "Then you know Fireworms eat a special nectar in the combs in their caves that give them their fire."

"Of course," Snotlout said with an obvious tone.

"Wait, so that stuff _is_ edible for people?" Hiccup asked, still greatly puzzled.

"Well by itself, no. But my mother invented a way to process it so it can be. And not only is it quite delicious, but it still maintains the natural heat that the Fireworms feed on, so it is good to eat in the winter to avoid hypothermia," the girl explained.

"Do you have any now? I would love to try some," Fishlegs asked, very intrigued. Hiccup also nodded eagerly, wanting to also try it.

The girl giggled "You already have; it's in your tea." Upon hearing this information, the riders all froze for a second before looking straight down into their cups. "Put it in your tea and you never have to worry about it going cold either," she said happily before sipping hers' again.

"Sister," Tuffnut said quietly to the blonde on the same log as him. She turned to him. "Our dreams have come true," he slowly started turning his head to her, a widely-growing smile of his face. "We ARE flame eaters!"

Ruff and Tuff excitedly bonked their helmets together while they whooped and hollered. "To the flame eaters!" Ruffnut cheered, clanking her mug to her brother's before each took a mighty gulp.

"It is good tea," Hiccup complimented, sipping his again

There was a bit of a pause while everyone more properly enjoyed their tea, before a thought finally occurred to Fishlegs. "Wait, did your grandmother ever talk about a Viking coming here and going into the caves to study the Fireworms?"

"Actually yes. That visitor always stood out to her the most because he was more interested in studying the dragons than anything else. She said she felt the most guilty for scaring him away," the girl answered thoughtfully.

"So that was her grandmother that Bork encountered when he came here," Hiccup concluded.

"So when you talk to people, you speak crackly and hide your face so everyone thinks you're that same old women," Astrid elaborated with her train of thought.

The girl nodded, her face falling a bit as she replied. "Like I said; I had to," she said numbly, looking down into her cup. Everyone looked at her, curious but also sympathetic.

"Um…" Hiccup said, getting her attention back to him. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your mother and grandmother?"

The girl bit her lip, quickly looking back down before looking all around her at the other riders who were also looking at her, expectedly yet sympathetic.

"They're dead. Both of them," she said stoically, but they could tell it was still a bit hard for her to say. "About ten years ago during the winter, we didn't have enough Fireworm honey saved. Mother gave up most of her ration for me and grandmother. She held out fine for the remainder of the winter but when everything started to thaw, mother became very sick. Grandmother and I did everything we could but it was her time. She passed away before all the snow on the island had melted.

And grandmother; her age must have caught up to her health. One day, four years ago, when we were tending to the pumpkin patch, she just collapsed. I got her back to the hut and cared for her all throughout the night. But apparently, her time had come too. And she passed away the next day."

"I'm very sorry," Hiccup said sympathetically. Tuffnut, not sure if he should say it too or not, but wanted to show he cared, placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. The girl jumped slightly at the touch, but allowed it for the time being.

She was grateful for the comfort.

"I visit they're graves every day. They are buried by our favorite tree," the girl said mostly to herself, smiling sadly.

"Buried?" Snotlout asked out of the blue.

"Where my grandmother is from, they bury their dead six feet under the ground and mark them with a stone with they're names. But grandmother wanted to do something different and more personal when we were putting mother to rest," the girl explained, putting her cup down, back on the tray she placed on the ground, then she stood. "Come. I'll show you," she said, starting to walk away from the fire pit, back straight and hands folded properly in front of her.

"Come on then," she said over her shoulder, stopping for her guests to catch up.

After another moment, the riders all stood, along with their dragons, sit their nearly empty cups down and they all followed the girl back into the forest.

* * *

As they walked, it was silent again. But the riders were paying extra attention to the mysterious girl who was guiding them to another part of the island. She walked very precisely. Her back and neck straight, shoulders down, and her hands folded neatly in front of her as she walked. Despite growing up in the woods with very little human contact, this girl had a very poised disposition to her. Her etiquette was beyond that of the Vikings they were and grown up around.

After a couple of minutes, they had arrived at a very familiar tree. The tree with the ropes and plank of wood.

"This tree again?" Snotlout asked out loud, observing their surroundings.

The riders and their dragons watched as the girl wordlessly walked up to a side of the tree that had unrecognizable writing carved into the trunk. "My mother is buried here," she said calmly, standing in front of the writing. "Facing east, because that is the direction of Murthach." The girl then walked clockwise around the tree until she was in front of a second unrecognizable inscription carved into the trunk. "And grandmother is buried here, facing south because that is the direction of her home land."

"How did we miss that?" Hiccup whispered to Astrid beside him. Astrid just wordlessly shrugged, still watching the girl.

"Did you make this?" Fishlegs asked from the west side of the tree, standing in front of the simple but strange devise dangling from the tree.

"No," the girl answered, walking over to the devise, smiling as her eyes trailed from the plank of wood to the thick branch that the tops of the ropes were tied to. "My grandmother put this up for my mother to play on when she was a little girl."

Every rider once again looked to her, confused.

"You play on this thing?" Ruffnut asked first.

Now the girl looked to them all confused. "You've never seen a swing before?" she asked with a raised brow.

" _A_ swing?" Fishlegs asked.

"We noticed it swings back and forth a little, but that's what it's called?" Hiccup said, wanting the clarification.

"Yes, it's a swing," the girl repeated. "It's for children to play on."

"Are these common where your grandmother is from?" Fishlegs asked further.

"I think so. Although I assumed they were common anywhere," the girl shrugged.

"So, how _are_ you supposed to play with this thing exactly?" Astrid asked honestly, walking up closer to get a better look.

"Well, you sit on it. Like this," the girl said, turning around to face the riders and dragons as they watched her. She took hold of both the ropes, one in each hand, and sat down on the plank of wood. "Then you kick off with your feet and pump them forward and back as you swing," she explained, raising her feet and legs off the ground and moved them in sync together as she bent her knees and straightened them out in front of her again. And as she kept at this, the plank of wood she sat on got higher and higher as it swung back and forth. The other riders watched her, smiling, greatly intrigued. "It kind of felts like flying," she said down to them as she flew passed them again.

That really got Hiccup's attention.

"Really? Like flying, huh?" Hiccup asked, more interested then a moment ago.

The girl dug her kneels into the dirt as she passed the ground, stopping the swing. "That's right. Do you want to try?" she asked invitingly. Hiccup looked stunned for a moment, looked to his friends real quick; they all gave him smiles with encouraging nods.

"Uh… okay," Hiccup smiled back to her before stepped up to the swing as she got off.

Hiccup, being the fast learner he was, copied everything the girl had done. He held the ropes, sat down on the plank, kicked off with his feet; foot and prosthetic, and started pumping his legs as he saw the girl had. And in less than a minute, Hiccup felt flight and smiled.

"Ha! This _does_ feels a little like flying," he laughed, very much enjoying the experience.

The other riders watched their leader, even more intrigued.

"Didn't she just say that it was for children?" Snotlout chuckled, watching his cousin swing higher and higher. But with a secret desire to try it as well.

"Well it is, but I still come here and swing every day," the girl replied. "In fact, I was here swinging when you lot came over here. So I hid."

"And then you ambushed us with those eels and scared our dragons away," Ruffnut nagged, bringing everyone back into asking more questions to this girl. Hiccup stopped pumping his legs and started to slowly stop his swinging as he listened.

"How did you know that by the way?" Astrid asked with a more friendly tone then Ruff.

"That eels terrify most dragon species?" the girl asked to clarify. Astrid nodded. "Something else my grandmother discovered a long time ago when my mother was a little girl. Other dragons, like the ones you have, started showing up on our island. And she hated the idea of violence and killing things. But she still only thought that the Fireworms were reasonable to live on the same island with."

"So your grandmother did what she did with any other visitors of your island. She scared them away," Hiccup concluded, getting up from the swing and going back over to his dragon.

"Correct. At first she didn't know how. But one day when a Zippleback attacked her while she was fishing, the dragon got into a basket of her fish and when he found the eel in there, he was horrified. And then she knew if she wanted the dragons to leave us alone as well, we would only need eels. But other dragons don't come by very often, so we've only ever had to use that method on very rare occasions," she explained. "I myself have seen dragon species like yours only a handful of times in my life," she said, but then her eyes wondered to Toothless, now standing beside Hiccup. "Thou I have to say, I've never seen a dragon like yours," she said directly to the young heir, walking closer to him, glancing down to the dragon.

"Toothless is a Night Fury," Hiccup told her plainly.

"Why can't he fly?" she asked curiously.

"He can fly, but not without me."

"I saw. I mean I saw you all fly in and land here."

"Then you followed us into that cave?"

She nodded before leaning down a bit to get a better look at the dark-scaled dragon. Toothless, no longer thinking she was a threat, calmly looked up at her with dilated pupils. "He's lovely," she smiled to the dragon, and Toothless gave her a thankful little growl in return. "But I was curious when he didn't fly away like the other dragons when he saw the eels. It wasn't until after I got you all away from my hut that I found him in that trench. He looked very upset and scared. I saw him flap his wings and try to fly out but he couldn't. He was freaking out and slamming himself everywhere. I was afraid he was going to hurt himself. So I panicked and threw down a fish I filled with a sleeping sedative. I didn't know if it would work on a dragon like him but it did calm him down a great deal. But it had worn off rather quickly and he started throwing himself everywhere again. So I threw a few more fish with more of the sedative and he was out."

"But what was with the fire you started in the trench when we found him," Astrid asked.

"You did not find him, I led you to him," the girl politely corrected her as she straighten herself up again. "And what was burning down in the trench were some herbs I put. When he was fast asleep I knew it would be safe to go down there and place them around him. Anyway, when they're set on fire, they produce a smoke that instantly undoes the effects of the sedative."

'That must have been when she obtained a few of Toothless' scales to bait them there,' Hiccup thought as she spoke.

"You led us there to get him out," Hiccup stated.

"I wasn't sure what your relationship with them was like, but I thought that after you found him and he was awake you could get him out and you would all leave," she explained, crossing her arms.

"We were about to, but Tuffnut decided to stick around a little longer and see the 'witch,'" Snotlout added, nudging the male twin's shoulder.

The girl stepped a bit closer as she spoke again, this time, more defensively. "I never let anyone else stick around to see anything. Not my house, not my garden, not my swing… Not even my face," she said almost angrily. The riders all looked to her confused by her sudden outburst. She looked wildly to them all before shouting, "Why am I even telling you all of this!?"

The girl turned away, hugging her arms, her shoulders tense. Some of the closer riders could say they even heard a sniffle.

None of them knew exactly what to do to calm her back down. But Tuffnut wanted to try. He had been fascinated and intrigued by the witch that he heard lived here through Bork's story. And after remembering his first encounter he had had with her, one on one, back in that cave, he was even more eager to know the girl behind the witch persona.

Tuffnut stepped up and spoke to her softly. "I don't know. Why are you?"

The girl's head and neck straighten up. They heard another sniffle before she spoke again, slightly turning just her head back to them. "I had to scare them away. Other people just don't accept people like me or my family."

"Really? Cause you don't seem that different from us," Hiccup added kindly. The girl didn't reply right away.

"I kinda felt that too," she finally said. "Which is why I thought that… if I told you everything, you'd understand why I have to stay here. And you'd keep my secret, and you'd leave here, telling everyone else you know to stay away and beware the 'Witch of Fireworm Island.'"

"But do you really like being alone?" Hiccup asked, honestly wanting to understand, and help this girl.

The girl paused for a moment, her hand moving up to wipe at her eyes, before she started turning back to them again. Her eyes were a bit red. "Grandmother always said we could only ever have each other to rely on. So when we made travelers leave, we still always had each other. But now… for the last four years I…" she stopped, getting choked up again.

"You don't want to be alone," Hiccup said. The girl gave a slight nod. "Then why stay here? Why scare people away? Keep other people away."

"Because they scare me," the girl said back with a slightly raised voice, dropping her arms. But she spoke normally as she continued. "If I leave and go to some village, they'll treat me like the people of my grandmother's village treated her. They feared my grandmother, but she was the one living in fear," she paused again, catching her breathe. "And here, she was finally free. She had mother so she was never alone, and then I came along and everything was perfect." She started hugging herself again.

"But now you are alone," Hiccup said, trying not to upset her more, but needed to see. "Just like your grandmother before she met your grandfather. And you now also live in fear of the people who come here… by yourself."

The girl started to tear up again. "I don't want live in fear like grandmother did but… I don't want to be alone anymore," she said, hugging herself tighter.

"Do we scare you?" Tuffnut asked with a hopeful smile that she would say no.

The girl looked to the blonde Viking male, smiling kindly to her. She smiled small back, whipping her eyes quick before answering honestly with a quick shrug. "Not really. Not anymore."

"You've had human and dragon visitors. All of whom you and your family have scared away," Hiccup asked, drawing her attention back to him. "But, before yesterday, did you or your grandmother, ever have humans riding dragons?"

The girl thought for a moment. "None that I can recall."

"So, would say _we're_ pretty weird?" Hiccup asked humorously.

The girl gave a slight chuckle before replying. "I suppose," she smiled with a shrug.

Hiccup smiled back and extended his hand out to her. "Hello, my name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. I am a dragon rider and very weird." The girl smiled, laughing again before taking the young heir's hand and shaking it properly.

"Astrid Hofferson. Also a dragon rider, and also weird," Astrid offered her hand to the girl as well after she dropped Hiccup's. The girl laughed again, once again accepting the hand shake.

"Snotlout Jorgenson, dragon rider extraordinar," Snotlout pushed to the front, also offering the girl a hand shake. Hiccup gave him a nudge to remind him to say the second part. "Also extraordinarily weird," he muttered, but she heard. The girl smiled and shook his hand too.

"Fishlegs Ingerman, very fawned of dragons and very weird indeed," Fishlegs said kindly, offering his hand next. The girl took it happily as well.

"Ruffnut Thorston," Ruffnut introduced herself, shaking the girl's hand too. "And you already know my brother- "

"Tuffnut Thorston, yes," the girl kindly finished for her. Giving both the twins friendly smiles.

"And we are both very much weird," Tuffnut added, earning another giggle from the girl as she shook his hand too.

"So I see," she said, looking around to all the riders, smiling kindly back to her.

"And you are?" Hiccup finally asked.

"Runa. Runa Sauveterre," she replied happily, saying her last name with more of that unfamiliar accent she had. "… and I consider myself pretty weird."

The riders all laughed. Everyone was happy from the trusting exchange, but Fishlegs cut in with an alarming realization.

"Uh, Hiccup," the larger Viking boy said worriedly, giving his leader's shoulder a shake. Hiccup looked back to him, slightly annoyed. "I really hate to cut the most fascinating part of our visit short, believe me I really do, but if we don't leave soon we won't make it back to Berk it time for the bomb fire," he said rapidly. All the riders froze in realization.

Hiccup quickly face-palmed himself. "Oh gods, the bomb fire! The festival! I completely forgot. My dad well go berserk if we're late," he exclaimed, dashing back over to Toothless and mounting up. The other riders also proceeded to mount their dragons as well.

"Bomb fire? Festival?" the girl, Runa, asked as the riders were rushing to their dragons.

"The Harvest Scare Festival," Tuffnut started to explain, standing by Belch's lowered head. "Every year, the people of our village gather to celebrate the harvest by pranking and scaring each other out of their pants. And the last event of the day is a bomb fire were we all tell scary stories to terrify each other even more," he explained excitedly to her. "It's so much fun."

Runa looked at them all, very puzzled again. "You scare your own people for fun, for a whole day?" she asked. But then gave them one more chuckle. "You guys _are_ weird," she said good-naturedly. Everyone smiled to, until a brilliant idea hit Hiccup. As he looked to the others and they, one by one, looked at him back, the idea must have transferred from his mind to theirs. And they all then looked to Runa with knowing smiles. Runa just stood there confused, not understanding the exchange. "What?"

Hiccup quickly cleared his throat before asking, "Runa, how are you at story telling?"

* * *

 ***Sauveterre- safe, land; safe haven**

 **Also, if u go back and check, I have changed all the 'Loki Day's to 'Harvest Scare Festival' (in all the chapters and the summary). I did this in light of the new episode of Race to the Edge; Shock and Awe, where they already have a 'Loki Day' as more of an 'April Fools Day'. Mine is meant to be more like Halloween, with tricks and treats.**


	11. Final Scare

**Hello! Sorry it's been a while. But the good news is that I have most of the next chapter already complete, so hopefully I'll have that up sooner then I've been updating before.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Final Scare**

 **...**

On the Isle of Berk, Stoick the Vast stood at the base of the stairs that lead up to the stage they built there in the plaza for the Harvest Scare Festival Bomb Fire. The bomb fire roared in the center of the plaza, keeping everyone warm from the cooling night air of the mid-autumn, with still enough room for a lot of people to stand in front of the stage with the fire at their backs, and a few straying Vikings further back if they couldn't get closer. The bomb fire was a good light source, but there was a torch on both ends of the stage to give more light for those who'd go on to tell their terrifying tale.

The chief's attention frequently went back and forth from the black skies to Gobber on the stage, regaling to the crowd with a chilling tale of the legend of the Lycanwing.

The Festival was almost over and Hiccup and the other riders hadn't come back like he said they would.

It was getting late. If the riders didn't show up by the time Gobber had finished his story, the chief would have to announce that the story telling part of the bomb fire was over and everyone way free to go back to their houses for the night or linger a bit longer to eat, drink, and socialize.

And of course Stoick didn't want to do that. He knew that this was Hiccup and the gang's first Harvest Scare Festival as eighteen year olds, and not one of them wanted to miss their first chance to go up and tell a scary story for the village. So the chief could only assume the worst when they were down to the last story of the night, and there had still been no sign of any of the young adults all day.

Stoick had half a mind to hop on Skullcrusher's back and head out to look for them himself, until a black, shadowy figure caught the corner of his right eye, back towards his house. Stoick dashed, fast but cautiously, around the corner to the stone steps that lead to his home, and there on the front lawn, was his son and Night Fury.

"Hiccup!" Stoick shouted to his son, but at least tried to be quiet enough to not disturb the story telling.

"Dad," Hiccup whisper/shouted, jogging over to his father. Toothless trailing behind him.

"Where in Thor's name have you been!? You and the other riders should have been back hours ago," the chief scolded his son, outraged but more relieved that his son was alright. But he grew concerned again when he looked behind his son; there was no one else around. "And where are the others?"

"I'm sorry Dad, really I am," the young heir apologized. "The others are on the other side of the Great Hall," Hiccup pointed up, passed the bigger stone steps to the area on the opposite side from there house. "As for us being late, that's kind of a long story, which will be explained on stage in just a minute," Hiccup reassured.

"Well just a minute is all you've got, because Gobber is almost done with his story," Stoick gestured with his thumb behind him, back towards the plaza.

"Is there anyone else lined up to go?"

"No. I was going to end the story telling for the night after him if you didn't show up," Stoick explained. "But Hiccup, everyone is pretty tired. I think it's a bit late for six more stories."

"Which is why we all only have one story prepared," Hiccup grinned. "Well, I say story but it's really more of a skit. A performance. The perfect closing for the Bomb Fire."

Stoick thought it over for only a moment before smiling himself. "Well, alright then. Just make sure you're all ready to go. I'll announce you and the other riders as soon as Gobber is finished." Stoick started to turn and walk back to the plaza, but Hiccup had a bit more to say.

"Wait Dad," he called after his father before taking too many steps. Stoick turned back to his son, listening. Hiccup rubbed his arm, not entirely sure how to ask this. "Before we go on, I need to ask for a sort of, uh… 'special permission' from the chief."

Stoick raised an eyebrow, but nodded, letting his son elaborate on the question.

* * *

Berkians clapped as Gobber finished his story with a bow. The blacksmith even blew a quick kiss to the crowd as he walked off the stage, down the small set of stairs, and up to his oldest friend.

"Any sign of 'em?" the one armed, one legged man asked concerned, giving a quick glance up to the night sky.

"Yes, I just spoke with Hiccup. Apparently, he and the other riders have a 'special little show' for us all," Stoick explained briefly. He knew a bit more, but Hiccup gave him specific instructions to not say anything more.

"Oh, is that so?" Gobber asked rhetorically, an amused and challenged grin on his face. "Well let's just see it top mine," he said confidently before walking off to grab a tankard of cider and watch this performance from the crowd with everyone else.

Stoick shook his head with a grin before walking up the stairs and onto the stage.

"Yes, yes, thank you everyone," Stoick raised his hand, silencing the crowd to let him speak. "My son and his friends, the other dragon riders, have finally returned-" the crowd of Vikings started applauding again, a bit louder this time, happy to hear the news. They all knew their heroes had not been among them all day for the festival and were glad to know they were back; and just in time too. Stoick silenced them with his hand again before continuing. "…they have returned, and they all have a very special performance for us tonight." As he spoke, they all heard the sounds of wings flapping and the roars of several dragons. Everyone looked up and saw a Monstrous Nightmare, a Gronckle, a Nadder, a Zippleback, and a Night Fury, all hovering above them. Each with an eighteen year old rider.

That was Stoick's cue.

"So, without further ado; telling the last story of the Harvest Scare Festival, your Berk Dragon Riders!" Everyone cheered as the riders on their dragons dived down, Stoick exited off the stage as they all landed there. Luckily the stage was built big enough and strong enough to support and fit them all on. They needed lots of space for this show.

The riders stayed mounted, waiting for the crowd to quiet down so they could begin. As soon as they were silent, Hiccup spoke, starting they're tale.

Hiccup: "Just yesterday, before coming back here to our home for this night, we explored the small, but mysterious land of the Fireworms."

And with that, all the riders on stage dismounted their dragons.

Ruffnut: "We landed our dragons and walked through the forest. Trees tall and twisted. Some burnt and charred. With leaves as red as blood."

Large, burnt logs were risen on the sides of the stage; representing said trees. The other riders pulled autumn colored leaves, most of them red as blood, out of their pockets and tossed them over the stage's edge to the crowd.

Fishlegs: "We eventually came upon a cave. With the light of a few torches, we ventured in the darkness." [Hiccup, Astrid, and Ruffnut pulled out one torch each and had their dragon light it. The light of the stages main torches faded a bit.] "Eventually coming upon a chamber with lit candles, just sitting there on a stone." [Then, pushed onto center stage, was a large stone pedestal with lit candles on top.]

Tuffnut: "And before we could think of our next move, the cave filled with the horrible hissing of the Fireworms that lived there. And we tried to block the echoing cries," [The hissing of dragons, unseen by the crowd, not all that loud at all, was heard by everyone in the plaza. The riders all covered their ears with what free hands they had, 'in pain' from the noise.] "Those of us with torches were attacked by an unseen force. Striking us from the shadows, one by one, and extinguishing our torches to blind us." [A shadowy figure started 'attacking' Hiccup, Astrid, and Ruffnut; their torches went out as the fell to the floor. The stage main torches dimmed even more.]

Snotlout: "When we were left with only the light of the candles, we had to rely on the fiery coat of our group's Monsterous Nightmare to light our way out." [Snotlout gestured to Hookfang to flame up, but the Stoker dragon just sniffed at the riders who were still on the stage's floor.] "…to light our way out!" he repeated a bit louder. [Hookfang snapped out of his distraction and finally flamed up, also lighting the stage torches back up to their full glow.]

When the stage lit up again, Hiccup, Astrid, and Ruffnut got back up to their feet. The group mimed walking.

Astrid: "After we stepped back into the light of day, we found something that made us wish we stayed back in the caves." [A shadowy figure, covered by a thick cloak, entered from stage left. All the riders and dragons stopped in their tracks.] "There, standing outside the cave, just waiting for us, was a witch."

Tuffnut: "The Witch of Fireworm Island."

Hiccup: "Floating around her, orbs of fiery light. And in her arms, the most bizarre, plump plant of glowing orange." [Three of the floating orbs from the island came in behind her, hovering above her. And in her arms was said glowing plant.]

The crowd gasped at the sight of this extra person and the floating light that surrounded them.

Ruffnut: "And just as fast as it took us to look at her, eels were thrown at us," [The figure in the cloak threw a couple of eels (which were actually rags, sewed together and stuffed to look like them) at them.] "Scaring our dragons greatly, making them fly away without us." [All the dragons on stage either flew or ran off the stage; the riders reaching after them, 'beckoning' them not to go.]

Astrid: "When we were alone with the witch, the floating lights came at us," [The orbs moved left; closer to the riders. The riders all raised their arms; trying to 'shield' themselves from the creepy things.] "And while we were distracted, the witch lunged at us, taking one of our friends," [The cloaked figure, having put the 'pumpkin' off stage a second before, came over and grabbed Tuffnut by both his arms.] "And dragged him off with her into the forest." [And the witch 'dragged' a 'struggling' Tuffnut off stage left.]

Fishlegs: "After the witch vanished with our friend, the lights followed after her and disappeared as well." [The floating orbs drifted back off stage left.]

Snotlout: "We tried to go after her as well," [The other riders ran off of stage left, only to come running right back on a second later from the same side. All of them with one of the plump orange plants (pumpkins) in their arms.] "But she was gone. But as we walked, we did stumble upon something else." [All the riders placed the 'pumpkins' down on the stage. Then pretended to inspect them curiously.] "A garden that grew the strange, plump, orange plants the witch had; only they were not glowing."

Ruffnut: "As we observed the bizarre plants, we started to hear music. The singing of an angelic voice." [The sound of a beautiful, feminine voice singing a simple string of notes filled the ears of everyone in the plaza.]

Hiccup: "We followed the sound of the beautiful singing and found ourselves at an old hut in the middle of the woods." [The riders mime-walked for a second before a curtain, framed by planks of wood, was pushed out to the edge off stage left.]

Astrid: "We dared ourselves to enter the hut," [Snotlout and Fishlegs went through the curtain, and both came out a second later, carrying Tuffnut; 'unconscious.'] "And there inside, was our friend. Out cold but still breathing." [The other riders dashed over to him and 'worriedly' looked him over.]

Ruffnut: "We thought things were looking up after finding our friend, but looking up as we were about to leave, those big, plump, orange plants from the garden began to rain down on us all!" ['Pumpkins' started falling onto the stage; nowhere near the riders, but they all still let out screams with every spat.] "Smashing into gooey, orange messes on the ground all around us!"

Hiccup: "We ran from the hut, carrying our still unconscious friend on our backs, as fast as our legs could carry us." [The curtain door was taken away, off stage, as the riders mimed running towards stage right. Still carrying Tuffnut.] "Until we reached a great, gapping trench of stone in the middle of the woods." [Within the small space between the front of the stage and the front of the crowd, stones had been placed in a circle. All the riders stopped before the front on the stage looking down in. At that same moment, all of their dragons came in and laid down in the circle of stones and closed their eyes.]

Fishlegs: "Looking down into said trench, we saw all of our dragons. Like our friend that we had just found in the witch's hut, all of them were alive, but fast asleep."

Astrid: "And directly on the other side of that trench from where we stood, was the witch herself." [The cloaked figure, a hood shadowing their face, stepped onto the stage from the right. All the other riders backed up a bit to stage left, looking at 'the witch' in 'fear.']

Snotlout: "And before we could do anything else, the air around us filled with a herby smoke." [Smoke from off stage on both sides began to cover the stage. Snotlout and Fishlegs laid Tuffnut on the floor of the stage as they and all the riders started to 'cough' heavily. The hooded figure backed off the stage, masked by the smoke.] "We all covered our eyes and coughed feverishly, *cough, cough*. But as the smoke cleared, we saw our dragons fly out of the trench, and come to us." [Their dragons, on cue, opened their eyes and climbed/glided onto the stage to join their riders, as the last of the smoke cleared off.] "And our unconscious friend had awoken as well." [Tuffnut opened his eyes as well and got to his feet.]

Hiccup: "Yet afterwards, we all looked around, and there was no sign of the witch. [The riders looked all around the stage, 'dumfounded.'] "She was gone again."

"Until now!" a crackly, feminine voice from behind them shouted, followed by a wicked laugh. All the riders and their dragons reeled away and dove down to the stage floor 'in terror' from the hooded figure as she appeared behind them, walking down center stage, the three floating lights above her.

Everyone in the crowd let out a gasp or scream as she appeared, laughing her wicked laugh with her arms stretched out wide. As they settled down, all the riders and their dragons on stage got back to their feet, stepping up and standing beside the hooded figure.

Hiccup smiled as he spoke directly to the crowd. "People of Berk, may I introduce, Runa Sauveterre," the heir gestured to the hooded figure, who immediately removed her hood to reveal the face of the eighteen-year-old young lady they had meet on Fireworm Island. "The third and former, Witch of Fireworm Island," he proclaimed to his people.

But as they heard this, the Berkians started to whisper and mumble to each other, some with looks of fear, others with distain. Only a handful of them had heard the actual legend of the witch that lives on the island of the Fireworms, but everyone else were just unsettled by the name 'witch.' Two or three even reached for their weapons. Runa saw this and was frightened. Tuffnut was the first to notice and stepped out in front of her, shielding her from the crowd.

"Quiet, all of you!" Tuffnut yelled to the audience at the top of his lungs. Everyone, on and off the stage became silence, looking at the male Thorston twin's serious expression in surprise. "Our story isn't finished yet." Tuffnut then looked to his right, to Hiccup, gesturing to him with his eyes to continue. Hiccup smiled with a nod before turning back to the crowd.

"Runa here, lives on Fireworm Island. She used to live there with her mother and her grandmother, but now, sadly, it's just her," Hiccup explained, patting Runa's shoulder sympathetically before continuing. "When we heard the story of a witch that lived on that island, among the Fireworms, we were intrigued, so we went there to explore and see if it was true. But by the end of our journey, we discovered that the legend was actually wrong." Every Viking in the crowd listened closer; this all sounded very familiar. "The witch from the stories from decades ago are of Runa's grandmother frightening them away. But she didn't frighten them away because she was a cruel, wicked witch. She wasn't even a real witch, she had no magic. And neither was her mother, or Runa. She just said she was to keep travelers away from her island to protect herself and her daughter. And when Runa was born, she protected her too." Hiccup paused, letting what he just said sink in with the crowd before continuing. But Runa beat him to it. If she wanted these people to accept her, she needed to let them know she could speak to them like the other young adults on stage with her. Squaring her shoulders, Runa stepped out from behind Tuffnut's shoulder and faced the audience of Vikings herself.

"In the village my grandmother grew up in, she was very different. She was a healer. A very gifted healer, but her ways were odd and strange to the people of her village. And so they labeled her as wicked. But believe me when I say that she was not a witch. And when she left that place with my mother and settled on Fireworm Island, she wanted nothing more to do with the outside world because she believed that they would never understand her. They would never accept her, and would always assume people like her had to be feared. Maybe even destroyed. And so, when visitors came to our island, she used their fear to drive them away. So she, my mother, and I, could live in peace." Runa told them honestly. She was surprised with herself she could talk to so many people at the same time. She spent her entire life believing she couldn't go anywhere near other people, but she liked being up on that stage, every one watching her and listening to her with interest and no fear. "Even after mother and grandmother died, I still believed there was no other place for someone like me. That I would always be alone, and that I had to stay on that island for my own good. But after I stopped trying to scaring these people off my island, I discovered that I wasn't so different from them at all," Runa backed up a bit, glancing happily left and right to the riders at her sides. "So, if you'll all have me, I would like to join society here."

Runa and the riders all waited for something to happen, or someone in the crowd to speak up. There were a few more whispers in the crowd before Stoick made his own appearance on the stage, facing them once again.

"Well, we've been wrong about fearing something we thought we understood before. Right everyone?" the chief told the Berkians, giving subtle gestures to a few dragons in the vicinity. As the crowd started to mumble with agreeing nods of their heads, Stoick stepped up closer to their newest guest, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "As chief, I welcome Miss Runa Sauveterre to our island at any time. And as the local residence of our island, I expect you all to also welcome her kindly."

The Berkians muttered for an extra moment before slowly starting to applaud. As their clapping got louder, Runa smiled with the other riders, giving them all a graceful wave. Runa's first feeling was true, she really did like being on a stage. People looking up at her, cheering with kind smiles on they're faces.

Gasping under her breathe in excitement, Runa realized what she had to do. Turning back to the chief by her side, tapped him on the arm to regain his attention. Stoick looked back to the new girl as she gestured for him to lean down to her closer. Stoick did so, allowing Runa to whisper something into his ear. Stoick smiled, and after pulling far enough away, nodded to her.

Stoick raised a hand to quiet down the crowd enough for him to speak again. "And, to officially close our festival, Miss Sauveterre would like to sing us a song." The crowd once again cheered, in anticipation and joy.

The riders, their dragons, and the chief all proceeded to leave the stage while Runa stayed where she was at center stage. Tuffnut straying for an extra second to give her a quick pat on the arm. When she was alone on the stage, she took a deep breath, and sang as she would to amuse herself back on her island.

As the riders take a place in the audience, Hiccup gives a look to Gobber, gesturing up to the stage. The blacksmith gives a solid nod before starting to walk off.

" _At night when the lake is a mirror_

 _And the moon rides the waves to the shore_

 _A single soul sets her voice singing_

 _Content to be slightly forlorn."_

Gobber, with his panpipes in hand, and a few other Vikings with other instruments with them, walk onto the stage and start to play a complimenting tune with the song of their visiting performer.

" _A song rises over the lilies_

 _Sweeps high to clear over the reeds_

 _And over the bulrushes swaying_

 _To pluck at a pair of heartstrings._

 _Two voices, now they are singing_

 _Then ten, as the melody soars_

 _Round the shimmering pond all are joining in song_

 _As it carries their reverie on._

 _Over the treetops and mountains_

 _Over the blackened ravines,_

 _Then softly it falls by a house near a stream_

 _And over the garden wall_

 _To thee."_

Every Viking, the riders included, all applaud and cheer, twice as loud as before. Runa smiled bigger and brighter than she has in years, curtsying to the crowd before gesturing for the musicians up with her to also take a bow.

* * *

 **The song I used here was another song from _Over the Garden Wall_ , called 'Over the Garden Wall'. **

**This chapter was supposed to contain bits of the rest of the festival, but I think it got too long and I haven't updated this in awhile. So since I at least had this part complete, I thought I'd post this scene and the next chapter will be the aftermath of the festivities. Then there will an epilogue.**

 **So yeah, about 2 chapters after this I think.**

 **And encase I don't update again before my spring break is over; Happy Easter! ;)**


	12. Trader

**Sorry, I know I promised this next chapter would be up sooner then I had been updating, and it kinda is, but I wanted to finish it sooner.**

 **Next chapter is the epilogue.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Trader**

 **...**

A few minutes after her own performance, Runa had come down from the stage and stood with the riders as they ate and drank by the bomb fire. Most of the villagers had left to retire to their houses for the night, but a few still stayed to socialize and feast.

"There you go," Runa said as she gently placed one of the Fireworms she had brought back with her to help in their performance, into Hiccup's hands. Hiccup looked down at the little, lightly glowing dragon as it crawled around in his cupped hands, feeling warmth but no scorching pain.

"Wow," Hiccup said fascinated, looking from the Fireworm to Runa. "I didn't think you could actually hold a Fireworm without burning yourself."

"Well one can. But it does take quite a few tries," Runa chuckled, another Fireworm on her shoulder. "With quite a few burns," she said as she pulled up her sleeves a bit more to reveal several tiny burn marks up and down both her arms.

"Cool," Tuffnut admired as he glazed at them, the other Fireworm already in his hands.

"Their core body temperature is normally very high. But when they are startled or feel threatened, they can bring that heat to their skin surface to defend themselves. However, because of their small bodies, doing that burns out their body heat faster. But if they are calm, most of that heat remains at their core and is not wasted so quickly, and then it is safe enough for them to be in contact with human skin," Runa explained.

"Fascinating," Fishlegs said in awe, gazing at the one in Hiccup's hands. "So do these little guys have names?"

"Of course. These three are my closest friends among the Fireworms," Runa replied with a smile. "They basically moved in to my hut with me after grandmother passed away," her smile a bit more sad. "That is Blaze, the only male," she said, pointing to the one in Hiccup's hands. "The other two are females. Magmera, or Maggie for sort," at that name, she gestured to the one on her shoulder. "And that is Flambée," she pointed to the one Tuffnut was holding.

"Flaw-bay?" Tuffnut tried to repeat.

" _Flambée_. It's a cooking method where you add alcohol to create a burst of flame to the dish," Runa explained. "I named her that because she likes hanging around me most when I am cooking." Runa brought a finger out to nuzzle up to Flambée's face as she nested in Tuff's hands. Flambée happily nuzzled back. Tuffnut grinned by the cuteness of the both of them.

"Well you are an excellent cook," Astrid commented as she stood on the other side of Hiccup, nipping at one of the scones the young 'witch' had made and brought for the festival before leaving her island. "These scones are really tasty."

"Thank you. I wish I had more time but I think they turned out good," Runa replied.

The riders and their new friend were quiet for a moment before an unexpected presence came up to them and said…

"I didn't believe my eyes at first glance. But by the sound of that name and that voice singing, now I know I was not mad," the new-comer to their conversation called from a few feet in front of the group. All the young adults turned their heads to see the warm smile of…

"Johann!" Runa yelled in excitement before running up to the man

"Johann?" the others asked in unison as they watched their new friend throw her arms around the trader's neck in a hug as he hugged her back.

" _Bonjour mademoiselle_ ," Trader Johann greeted the girl fondly after pulling away a bit.

" _Bonjour monsieur_ ," Runa returned with a wide smile.

"Wait, what?" Ruffnut asked out loud, looking confused as the other riders as they all looked at the two before them.

"Oh, that means 'hello miss' and 'hello sir'," Runa replied, turning her attention back to the dumbfounded riders for a moment. But she turned back to Johann as he spoke to her again.

"Well this is a sight I never thought I'd live to see. You actually…"

"Left? I know," Runa smiled, not entirely believing it herself. "These nice people with dragons found me," she gestured to the riders. "I tried to scare them off my island for more than a whole day but they stayed and… I told them everything," she shrugged.

"Wait a second, wait a second," Snotlout intervened. "You guys know each other? How?!"

Hiccup stared at them, deep in thought, until he finally remembered. "The world traveling trader that visits your island…"

"And a good friend of my father even before he met mother," Runa finished for the heir.

"You told them about me?" Trader Johann asked.

"Well not by name. I didn't know they knew you," Runa shrugged again.

"Of course, Berk is one of my favorite trading stops," Johann replied merrily. "Plus I do enjoy the Harvest Scare Festival here. I was actually going to come visit you again afterwards."

"Johann, you really knew both of Runa's parents?" Tuffnut interrupted, his curiosity once again peaked.

"And her grandmother," the trader replied. "Although I do believe she didn't like me all that much, ever after I swore to not tell anyone about their secret lifestyle or harm them. I understood they were different, but they were good people. As Runa has grown to being a good person," Johann wrapped one arm around the girl in a friendly, one-armed hug. Runa smiled up at him. "She allowed me to continue coming to their island with supplies for them, but I never thought she completely trusted me," Johann scratched his chin in thought for a second, then shrugged. "Either that or she just didn't like me."

"Well mother liked you and so did I. And I still do," Runa said, happy and grateful to the only male-figure she ever knew in her life.

Hiccup continued to watch the two of them, still thinking hard about this new information. "Johann, can I have a word?" he finally asked, nodding his head away from the group.

Trader Johann nodded solemnly back and walked with Hiccup, stopping a few yards away from the group, close to the stairs that lead to the plaza stage.

"I know what you're going to say Master Hiccup," Johann said after they were out of ear shot of the others. Hiccup turned back to the trader, his face stern.

"Why didn't you tell us about her?"

"Because I gave her family my word. And not just my word as a trader who won't reveal their sources of trade, but as a concerned family friend," Johann told the younger man.

"Johann, you knew Runa her whole life, that she lived among dragons her whole life, and that she needed a place to live where people wouldn't think she was wicked and could accept her attraction to dragons, and you didn't try to bring her here sooner?" Hiccup subtlety ranted. "She's been living on that island, by herself, for the past four years. That's around the same time we made peace with the dragons. She would have been more then welcome here." If Johann had told him and the others about Runa back then, they would have all flown straight to Fireworm Island, scoured the island for her, and tried to make friends with her and brought her to Berk years ago.

"You think I wasn't concerned about that Master Hiccup?" Johann countered. "Of course I tried. Even before I knew Berk would be a perfect place for her. When her grandmother died, I tried so many times to convince her to pack up and allow me to sail her to another island with a village so she could create a new life for herself, but she wouldn't. She was so afraid she would be scorned and marked as wicked, just like her grandmother back in her home village. I'm assuming she told you all about her family history," Hiccup nodded. "And after I heard you and your friends started training dragons here on Berk, I had even higher hopes she would come with me to settle into a 'dragon friendly' village," Johann sighed. "But she still refused."

Hiccup folded his arms. "So you told her about us and she still refused to come here?"

"When I told her there was an island of Vikings living peacefully among dragons; Nadder, Gronckles, Zipplebacks, Terrible Terrors, Monstrous Nightmares, she didn't think she would be welcome or comfortable living among those dragons. Let alone 'other people' for that matter."

Hiccup thought back to more she had told them that mourning. "She told us her family had also been scaring away other dragon species off their island with eels."

"That's right. She and her family lived on that island believing Fireworms could be they're only other companions outside their family."

That made sense. "So she was afraid to not only live in a village full of other people, but a village full of other, larger, dragons that weren't Fireworms," Hiccup concluded.

"That's about right, Master Hiccup," said Johann, before sighing regretfully. "I do wish I could have told you about her sooner or brought you to her myself, but I just couldn't break her trust. After her family was gone, I was the only one she had left. I feared how she would have reacted if I brought anyone with me to visit her," Johann glanced back behind to see Runa still conversing happily with the other riders, along with one or two other adult Vikings who were walking by to say hello. "I promised her grandmother, her mother, even her father before she was even born that I would always look out for her. Which I could not do if she no longer trusted me." Hiccup looked on with him. Runa looked a little uncomfortable talking with the few other villagers, but smiled and communicated back well enough. And with the other riders, she looked very at home. "But now just look at her. Now that you and your friends have shown her the truth. That she can trust and live peacefully with other people and dragons, she can start herself a new," Johann said happily. Hiccup smiled as well, watching as his father walked up to them, along with Gothi.

"Runa, this is Gothi. Our Village Elder and the best healer on Berk," Stoick introduced the old women to their new-comer. Gothi smiled warmly and nodded her head respectfully to greet the younger women.

" _Bonjour madame_ ," Runa curtseyed with also a respectful bow of the head to the wise elder. Until her head snapped up, upon realizing this women most likely didn't understand that greeting. "I-I mean, Hello Ma'am… Um, Elder Gothi," Runa quickly stuttered to correct herself, before rushing back into a curtsey pose and keeping her head down. But the girl dropped the position, feeling an old, fragile hand take one of her hands that was holding out her shirt. Runa dropped her other hand and stood normally, looking down to the village elder, holding her hand with a gentle and welcoming smile. Runa smiled sincerely back.

"I've honestly never seen her this happy before. Not since before her mother passed at least," Johann smiled with a mix of sadness, but still joyful. And relief. Relief that he would not be leaving her alone again the next time he says goodbye to her.

Hiccup still believed he could have gotten through to her if they had met her years ago, but he knew there was no point if fussing about it now. She may have had to indoor those few years after her grandmother died alone, but she made the best of it then and now she would never have to be alone again. He and the other riders would make sure of it.

* * *

After having their fill at the buffet, all the riders also retired to their old houses with their families for the night. Hiccup offered Runa his bed in the loft of the chief's house to sleep in for the night while he slept downstairs.

The next morning, Runa decided to make breakfast for the chief and his son in their very own kitchen. And of course, she over did it and made more food than two young adults and a Viking chief could finish. So Hiccup invited Gobber and the other riders to help.

Everyone from the bomb fire loved her scones from the other night, and her cooking the following morning was even more enjoyable. Runa was indeed one of the best cooks to prepare food on Berk.

When it was determined that those at the Haddock's table could eat no more, the riders decided to show Runa around the village, now that there was day light. They brought her to the Great Hall first, to share the left-over food from their rather large breakfast with the Vikings there that morning. And of course everyone was elated to have more of their wonderful new-comer's cooking. Runa did appreciate the positive feedback and compliments, but she wasn't used to being around so many people and being given so much attention; positive or otherwise.

After leaving the Great Hall, the riders walked Runa down to the docks, to bid Trader Johann a good morning. After that, them and their dragons were all needed in the village plaza to help clean up from the festival; putting away tables, cleaning out the bomb fire pit, and taking the stage apart. During which time, Runa got to see the center of the village in the light of the day.

When everything was straighten out in the plaza and they were free to go, the riders took Runa to their primary place of business on Berk; the Dragon Academy.

"And this is where we work to train dragons," Fishlegs announced as they walked through the tunnel gate and into the arena. "Also, were we used to fight, and otherwise, kill them," he added sheepishly, but Runa was too preoccupied looking around, up at the doming chain net over their heads.

The riders all watched Runa walk around the space of the arena, her three Fireworm companions on her shoulders.

"So Runa, do you like Berk so far?" Hiccup asked her from across the floor.

Runa turned back to her new friends. "Well, it is pretty nice here. I don't know," she said with a shrug as she started walking back to them slowly. "I mean, you guys are great and your dragons are lovely, but I just think it's going to take a while for me to adjust to living in an actual village with so many people," she said honestly as she stopped in front of them before smiling. "But with all of your help I think I'll be okay." However, after saying this, the riders all looked down with 'not happy' looks on their faces. Runa's smile dropped and was replaced with confusion upon seeing this. "What?"

"Well Runa, it's just… we're not staying," Hiccup spoke up, looking a bit guilty. "We're leaving tomorrow morning," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"What? Why? I thought this was your home," Runa asked desperately. She didn't want to live in a village of strangers and without her only new friends.

"It is, but we have to return to our outpost on another island," Astrid stepped in. "We made it as our base of operations while we hunt for an escaped prisoner and search for new dragons."

"Oh," Runa looked down, taking in what the other girl just said. "That does sound pretty important," she admitted. Runa sighed before looking back at the riders. "Will I be staying with the chief or do you think Elder Gothi would take me in?" she asked, trying to smile.

The riders waited for Hiccup to give her an answer. The heir thought for a second before a brief grin flashed onto his face. "Actually Runa, you won't be staying with either of them," he told her.

"Oh," said Runa. "Then where would…"

"Runa, why don't we tell you a little about our outpost," Hiccup interrupted her right before guiding her over to a few crates on the other side of the arena floor, the other riders following. He sat Runa down on one of the crates before sitting down himself on another next to her, the other riders stood around them. "It's called the Dragon's Edge."

"It's posted on a beautiful island that's about a day's worth of flying from here," Fishlegs added.

"The island itself is pretty big but the outpost we built is smaller than this village," Hiccup continued.

"We all have our own huts," Astrid also added.

"Except us," Tuffnut interrupted, guesturing to his sister and himself. "We share a somewhat bigger one." Ruffnut nodded.

"We have stables for our dragons, a few watch towers, another dragon training arena," Hiccup said.

"But with a dome," Snotlout added.

"Yes," Hiccup quickly acknowledged his cousin's input. "And a special meeting house that overlooks the whole outpost. We call it the Club House aka, the Eye of Dragon's Edge," he finished, letting Runa respond.

"That all sounds really nice," the new girl half-smiled, looking down, still unhappy that her new friends would be leaving her here while they go live at such an amazing place doing amazing and exciting things.

Hiccup leaned in a bit closer to her, trying to see her face. A small smile on his lips. "Nice enough to want to live there yourself?" he asked.

"Well I guess but…" Runa replied without fully processing what the young heir had just asked her. After stopping herself mid-speech to really think about his question, she turned back to look at him with a shocked expression.

Seeing she was a bit confused, Hiccup continued with a serious face. "Runa, we do a lot of things ourselves to care for Dragon's Edge. We protect it and each other. We clean our own huts and dragon stalls. But we don't have time for other things like taking care of livestock or a garden," he listed.

"Or cooking," Snotlout once again added.

"Yeah, none of us are very good cooks either," Hiccup agreed with his cousin. "And you said it yourself, you don't feel all that comfortable around so many people yet, but you are comfortable around us, right?" he asked for clarification, gesturing to himself and the other riders around the two of them.

Runa glanced all around her to see the friendly looks all the riders were giving her before turning back to Hiccup. "That sounds about right," she shrugged.

Hiccup smiled. "And not only that, but you're a healer. If one of us gets hurt or sick, we could use a healer already there with us instead of flying a whole day to get Gothi," he continued. Hiccup glanced down for a second. "So, I guess what I'm asking is, do you want to come back to Dragon's Edge and live there with us?" he finally asked her. "We'll build you your own hut right by the Club House, that's where the kitchen is."

Runa didn't respond right away, instead, she stood up from her crate and took a few steps away from the other as she processed all this and to think. "Would I have to be a dragon rider like you all?" she asked, still half-turned away from them.

Hiccup stood too, glancing at the other riders briefly before answering. "Not necessarily. I mean, you already have a way with Fireworms, but we could teach you more about other dragons. So you could be a trainer," their leader offered.

"Would Magmera, Flambée, and Blaze be welcome?" Runa reached up to pat Blaze on her left shoulder.

"Well a dragon trainer's got to have companionship with their dragon of choice," Snotlout said, crossing his arms comfortably.

"And I would be expected to cook, garden, tend to livestock, and heal when need be?" Runa turned back more to face them.

"And maybe do some sweeping around the walkways and platforms a little," Fishlegs added.

"Do you have any sheep?" she asked hopefully.

All the riders shared a quick look with each other, knowing the answer was 'no.' They only had a female yak for fresh milk, the boars for the Boar Pit, and a few wild chickens. "We could bring a few sheep to the Edge if you want," Tuffnut blurted before anyone else could just flat-out say 'no.' Runa smiled warmly at the male Thorston twin before quickly glancing to the side, still thinking.

After giving her an extra few seconds to think it over, Hiccup stepped up and asked. "So, what do you say?"

Runa looked back at the riders with a straight face. Then, that straight face slowly turned to an excited smile.

"When can I start?"


	13. Something Cooking

***PHEW* Finally finished the last chapter of this story. I really thought I was going to be able to finish and post this yesterday but it got late and I ran out of time.**

* * *

 **Epilogue**

 **Chapter 13: Something Cooking**

 **...**

After Runa agreed to move into Dragon's Edge with the riders, the young adults immediately got to work. With a ship filled with building supplies following them, the riders left for the outpost to begin construction on Runa's new hut. And while that was being done, Trader Johann began sailing back to Fireworm Island with Runa to collect her belongings, then he would sail her to Dragon's Edge. It was always his intent to be the one to bring Runa to the new land where he knew she would be happy and safe.

When the trader's ship finally arrived at Dragon's Edge, about a week later, Runa's hut was complete and ready for her to move herself in. Like Hiccup promised, they built it very close to the Club House, right behind the twin's hut, on the other side of the small ledge that sticks out from the cliff face behind the Club House. With of course two small bridges; one to connect her hut to the small piece of the cliff face that surrounds the Club House, and one to connect that space to the platform of the Club House.

In the first room was a newly built table and chairs, plenty of shelfs and cabinets. They also made her a loft where her new bed was. Living in a one room, one floor hut her whole life, Runa felt a little odd going up the stairs to this loft. But she did love to climb cliffs and trees, so she welcomed the change. All of it. And she voiced this to her new friends who built her such a home and thanked them again.

And that night, being her first night on the Edge, she started her new position right away and made dinner.

* * *

The riders were all sitting at the table at the center of the Club House, every inch of space around the fire pit in the middle was littered with bowls and platters of various meats, vegetables, bread, and other dishes. Just walking in would have any man drooling from the smells.

"Sweet, sweet Valhalla," Snotlout moaned with a mouth full of bread and stew, before immediately shoving another bit from a biscuit in his mouth, some juice from the stew around his lips and chin. As he was chewing, or _smacking_ , however, Runa came up behind him, whacking the back of his head, tilting his helmet down his face a bit. Snotlout looked up to her, confused, his mouth still full.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, but mind your table manners when eating my food, Snotlout," Runa scolded him, calm but stern, much like a mother to her misbehaving child, holding a cloth napkin out for him. Snotlout took the cloth and started wiping at his mouth. Runa smiled, very pleased with herself, as she continued walking over to the entrance of the kitchen, opposite from the door that lead outside the Club House, a few dirty dishes in her arms.

"I'm liking her more and more," Astrid whispers to Hiccup at her left, his spoon full of stew just in front of his lips. Hiccup chuckles to himself briefly before putting the bit in his mouth. Hiccup hummed at the flavor as he chewed.

"Runa seriously, this is the best meal we've ever had here," Hiccup said gratefully to their new residence after swallowing.

"The best meal we've had here _so far_ ," Tuffnut respectively corrected his leader. All the other riders spoke over each other, agreeing with the both of them, loud enough for the girl to hear them from the next room.

Runa pocked her head out of the kitchen, a rag in her hands. "Oh guys, it's what you recruited me for. I'm just doing my job," she said bashfully as she walked back into the main room of the Club House.

"And it's only your first night on the job, and we're already blown away," Tuffnut flattered her further, earning her another round of mixed praises from the others, and earning Tuff a blush from the new girl of their island. Runa still wore her brown boots and blood-red skirt, but she now wore a new creamy-white blouse; a V-cut at the top of the front with a string weaved through, the sleeves were loose and free, ending at her elbows, and a lacey pattern at the hem. It was a gift from the twin's mother. The women got it in trade a few years ago for Ruffnut, but she never wore it, so Mrs. Thorston thought their new companion would love it, and she did.

And Tuffnut liked it too.

"Hey Hiccup," Snotlout said, mouth empty, putting his napkin down and grabbing another chicken leg. Hiccup lifted his attention from his plate to his cousin. "you know how I used to call you Princess Outpost when we first came here?" he asked before taking a bit of the leg.

"Yes, I remember, Snotlout," Hiccup said with a sarcastic smile.

"Well I take it back, because the real, true princess of this outpost, is this girl here," Snotlout announced proudly, pointing his chicken leg at Runa, who was approaching the table with a full pitcher of water. Runa stopped in her walk for a moment and smiled.

"Oh defiantly," Tuffnut agreed.

"I can agree to that as well," Fishlegs said happily.

"Oh please, I'm just your cook," Runa said bashfully, placing the pitcher down on the table and sitting down at her own spot.

"And healer," said Astrid.

"And gardener," said Snotlout.

"And animal keeper," said Tuffnut. "You know 'cause she takes care of the animals we have here."

"She's also going to be training dragons with us guys," Hiccup added.

"But if she's not a dragon rider, does that mean she is supposed to stay here alone when we go out exploring?" Astrid asked. Everyone paused to think on that for a minute, but Hiccup was the one to give the definite answer.

"Well she can come with us some times if she wants," Hiccup said to the others before speaking directly to Runa before continuing. "but yes, Runa you are our person to look after our home base while we are out." Runs smiled again with an understanding nod, accepting her new responsibility.

"Again, I say she is the princess of this outpost," Snotlout said, dropping the chicken bone on his plate.

"In that case, I propose a toast," Hiccup picked up his mug before standing up, raising it high. The other riders followed soothe and stood with their mugs as well. "To Runa. The first official caretaker/dragon trainer of Dragon's Edge," Hiccup proclaimed.

"Here, here!" they all cheered, clanging their mugs together.

* * *

After dinner, and a lovely berry pie for dessert, the riders helped Runa clear the table before leaving to retire to their huts for the night. Runa would also retire for her first night on the Edge in her new hut right after she finished washing the dishes.

Runa stood at the water basin in the Club House kitchen, washing all the dishes from dinner and earlier that same day. After washing and rinsing them off, she would stack them neatly on a rag laid flat on the counter top beside her, which she will hand dry herself and put back in the cabinets when the basin is empty. Even if she was rather tired, Runa sang to help keep herself focused and cheery while she worked.

Singing made everything easier for her to get through.

It took her awhile longer then she would have preferred, but both the basin and counter top were finally clear of dishes. She was used to doing all the house work herself while living alone, but now that she lives with other people, maybe sometimes she could use a little help. At least with the dishes. Runa made a mental note to ask Hiccup if one of them could help her with the dishes every night. But she'd wait to ask him about that tomorrow. She was too tired to go to him now, and he was most likely asleep by now.

Runa put the lantern in the door way out and left the kitchen. As she was walking through the Club House, her attention fully on the main door to leave, she heard a bawk from inside the room. Runa turned her head and say, sitting right there on the center table, next to the extinguished fire pit, was a tiny chicken. Runa wondered for a second why a chicken would be in the Club House, but quickly remembered Tuffnut holding a chicken while he and the other riders were showing her her new hut and the rest of the outpost earlier that day.

Runa watched the chicken stare at her for a minute. "Uh… hi. You must be Tuffnut's chicken," Runa asked timidly, approaching the table with an outstretched hand. The chicken responded with another bawk, which Runa took as a 'yes.' Runa knew this chicken obviously liked Tuffnut, but she didn't know how friendly she was with other people. But she had handled chickens before. There weren't any wild chickens on Fireworm Island, but Johann had frequently brought her family chickens to eat and also raise for eggs. But, much to her relief, as she walked right up to the table, the chicken walked closer to her and murmured more bawks. So, believing it was okay, Runa scooped Chicken off the table, holding her carefully. Runa smiled and kindly petted the chicken's feathers as she cooed a few bawks.

Runa knew it wouldn't be right to just leave her there, and Tuffnut must be wondering where she is at this hour. So Runa left the Club House but went down a stairway that lead down to the twin's hut with Chicken nested in her arms.

But just as she was walking down the platform to the side of the Zippleback shaped hut, the caretaker watching as another person opened one of the doors of the hut and started walking towards her. After the person came into the light of the torch she was next to, Runa saw it was Ruffnut.

"Oh, hey Runa," Ruffnut said kindly but looking anxious to keep walking the way she was, subtly bouncing on her heels.

"Evening Ruffnut," Runa greeted her kindly in return. Ruffnut kept smiling back but also kept flipping her eyes from the girl with the chicken in front of her to the latter that lead up to the next platform. "Is your brother inside? I found his little friend in the Club House and…" Runa tried to ask but the female twin quickly cut her off.

"Yeah, right. Listen Runa, I really need to get myself to the outhouse before my bladder explodes," Ruffnut, still smiling forcefully, placed her hands on the other girl's shoulders, turning them both around to trade places. "So if I could just get past you…" As soon as Ruff was on the other side of Runa, Ruffnut started walking over to the latter Runa had just climbed down.

"Wait, what about _her_?" Runa hollered after the girl, gesturing to the chicken in her arms.

"Just go inside and put her down on Tuff's bed or something then leave," Ruff called back to her as she climbed up the latter.

"But where is Tuffnut?"

"He's out looking for Chicken. Just put her inside and if I see Tuff when I'm coming back, I'll tell him I saw you." Ruffnut made it to the top. "And good night!" she hollered quickly before dashing off to the outhouse in the woods nearby.

"Good night!" Runa called, less loud because she knew the other girl couldn't hear her, but she wanted to say it anyway.

Shrugging, Runa turned and continued walking up to the front doors of the twin's hut. Ruffnut had been in a hurry to leave, so what she assumed was her door, was still opened a bit. The design was odd to Runa; there was a gear that lifted the door up to open it. The door on her new hut was like any other door she had seen in her life. She wasn't sure how it was supposed to work, but it was thankfully already left opened enough for her to squeeze in.

Inside the double-hut, Runa looked around and saw a small hearth by a table and two chairs, two staircases on both ends of the room, both leading up to a loft above her head, where she assumed their beds were.

Chicken leaped out of her arms and scurried over to the hearth to settle for the night, leaving Runa to look around more. She wouldn't go through anything. She wasn't one to pry, but she was curious. When the other riders were showing her around earlier, they just walked by their huts and told her who's was who's. Although that didn't feel all that necessary given that the structures looked like the dragons they rode. But they didn't let her inside any of them; just her own. But Ruffnut said she could come in to return Chicken, and what could hurt to just looking at the interior.

It wasn't her intention to even touch anything, but after taking a step forward, her foot hit something hard. Runa reeled her foot back with a quiet cry of 'ow', stepping back and looking down at what she accidently struck.

It was a mace.

Her family wasn't one to have too many weapons. They had knives, which were mainly used from preparing food, a bow and arrows for some hunting (she learned a few years ago how to shoot and wasn't too bad), an axe to chop fire wood, and a sword or two for precautionary reasons. But never other weapons like clubs, bludgeons, battle-axes, and maces. She had seen a few when aboard Johann's ship and some pictures in books she had read, but she had never handled one before. And maybe the floor wasn't the best place for it.

Runa, bracing herself to handle the weight of the large weapon, grabbed a hold of its handle with both her hands and lifted. But to her great surprise, she lifted the weapon with ease and held it up with purpose. Like she could handle it or even use it if she wanted to learn.

Holding the mace up to look at it closer, Runa found herself fascinated with the metal weapon with spikes. The metal head was so shiny that she could see herself so clearly in between the spikes. And, her curiosity and interest in the beautiful weapon growing, she decided to try swinging it a few times. Again, she was astounded by how she could handle it with ease.

Runa laughed as she swung it again.

* * *

After walking by the outhouse and being told by his sister through the door that his chicken was back in their hut, Tuffnut made his way down the latter of stairs and across the platform to the front of his Zippleback shaped abode.

The male twin had a smile on his face, glad to hear his dear chicken was safe in his hut after he thought he misplaced her sometime between the amazing dinner and dessert prepared by their new cook and caretaker. And, said new caretaker was the one to find and deliver his chicken back to his hut. He knew there was something about her he liked a great deal, and now he was sure she would be a wonderful caretaker and a great new member of their team.

Tuffnut was feet away from his door when he saw that his sister's door was almost halfway opened, light from the hearth pouring out, and girly laughter chiming in the air. He knew that laughter couldn't possibly be his sisters.'

Ruffnut laughed. But she never giggled like a mischievous forest nymph. And she couldn't have come back from the outhouse without passing him unnoticed.

Confused and not sure how else to approach this odd occurrence, Tuffnut crept as quietly as he could to the open door and looked inside. And there, standing in the front room, swinging around Macey while laughing with an excited smile on her lips, was Runa.

Tuffnut watched in unexpected awe as she swung his favorite mace around, bashing invisible foes, laughing like she was having a pillow fight. And after a whole minute of watching her play/fight in her own little world, she stopped swinging and just stood there, slowly catching her breath from all the laughing and welding around the weapon. He watched Runa hold the mace up to look into the shiny metal, just standing there, a radiant smile of satisfaction reflected in the spikey head.

If he had seen anyone else even touching his Macey, he would have a fit and tell Barf and Belch to blow up their ass. But Runa… standing there, looking so happy and fierce holding his Macey… he would paint her like that, in that moment, if he could. And hang that painting above his bed.

Tuffnut pulled away from the door way, leaning his back against the wall of the outside of his hut. Sure, before he knew there was something he liked about her a lot, but now… now he knew he was straight up smitten.

* * *

 **So that's my first story introducing my OC (Runa Sauveterre). Which also means I have a few ideas for a few other stories to follow this one with her.**

 **Hiccup is of course my favorite male character of the group, but Tuffnut is a very close second. And I thought he deserved a lady friend. So you will see their relationship grow in the following stories.**

 **I don't know when exactly I'll start writing the sequels for this universe, (I do have a few other ideas for other stories that are unrelated to this universe) but I intent to write them. The summer is still young so I hope to write more.**

 **Thank U all, and keep reading HTTYD!**


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